WASHINGTON _ The House Ethics Committee has released information on an expanded list of allegations against Rep. David Schweikert, who is under investigation by the panel, which released a second referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics on the Arizona Republican.
Under House Ethics Rules, the committee is required to release OCE referrals one year after they are sent to the House.
The latest report from OCE documents the second round of allegations, which prompted House Ethics to expand the scope of its inquiry. The report shows that the OCE board voted unanimously to recommend an expanded inquiry into Schweikert.
The OCE is a nonpartisan entity that reviews allegations of misconduct involving House staff and lawmakers and refers cases to the House Ethics Committee. The office has jurisdiction to investigate alleged violations of a "law, rule, regulation or other standard of conduct."
OCE found "substantial reason" to believe Schweikert authorized expenditures form his Members' Representational Allowance, or MRA, that his former chief of staff, Richard Oliver Schwab Jr., made outside of the scope of permissible official expenses.
The office also recommended further review of allegations Schweikert failed to ensure his campaign committee followed the rules in accepting contributions from one of his congressional office employees that later were reimbursed from his official office account.
In December 2018, the Ethics Committee voted unanimously to expand the scope of its inquiry into Schweikert to include allegations that he may have used official resources to benefit his campaign and omitted required information from his annual House financial disclosure statements and Federal Election Commission candidate committee reports.
OCE submitted a second referral to the committee regarding Schweikert last September, and the panel announced in December that it was expanding the scope of its inquiry. The second referral is what House Ethics released Thursday.
Additional allegations the committee is reviewing include that Schweikert:
_Pressured congressional staff to perform political activities.
_"Authorized compensation to an employee who did not perform duties commensurate with his House employment," which is what the committee has used to refer to off-the-books settlements in the past.
_Received loans or gifts from a congressional employee.
Another OCE report released in June included findings that Schwab used official funds on a six-day trip to Arizona in which he attended Super Bowl XLIX; separately, he made impermissible contributions to his boss and received income beyond the House's outside earned income limit for his position.
Schwab resigned in July 2018.
The Arizona Republican told CQ Roll Call in June that expected everything to be cleared up with House Ethics in September or October. Schweikert added then that he would "absolutely" run for reelection.
Schweikert is already a Democratic target heading into 2020.
He won reelection last year by 10 points in a district President Donald Trump also carried by about 10 points in 2016.
But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is eyeing his increasingly suburban and well-educated district in the Phoenix area as a pick-up opportunity.
Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, who ran unsuccessfully in the 8th District last year, is running in the 6th District this year.
