WASHINGTON _ A congressional ethics panel is reviewing whether U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., broke House of Representatives rules last year by giving his former chief of staff a severance package using taxpayer money.
Meadows came under review last fall by a separate agency _ the Office of Congressional Ethics _ after the Washington-based news publication Politico reported that the payment to the staff member may have violated rules. Politico reported that former Meadows Chief of Staff Kenny West left his position May 21, 2015, and was paid through that Aug. 15.
Congressional financial records show West made $96,200 last year through mid-August. Three months' salary would be an estimated $38,000.
West was a political opponent to Meadows before he was hired for his congressional office. He and Meadows ran against each other in the 11th Congressional District Republican primary in 2012, which Meadows won after a runoff. It gave Meadows his first term in Congress. He also spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Meadows has emerged in Congress as a vocal conservative and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers best known for ousting former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, last year.
Meadows' spokesperson did not return emails this week from McClatchy asking for comment on the ethics review. His office has previously said the congressman asked for a committee review and didn't think any rules had been broken.
The Office of Congressional Ethics, which turned its report over to the Ethics Committee, has investigative powers and can make recommendations. The House Ethics Committee, on the other hand, has the ability to issue a penalty against a lawmaker.
This week, Ethics Committee officials publicly acknowledged that they are reviewing Meadows' case. A public notice _ required under House rules _ indicates the panel has been looking into the matter since March.
The committee, according to the ethics letter, plans to make a decision no later than Aug. 17.
The Ethics Committee's procedures call for the review to be confidential until the matter is closed, then its results are public. The committee's statement indicates that the Office of Congressional Ethics referred the Meadows case, but that doesn't mean Meadows violated any rules.
