Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) could face a review of whether he violated House ethics rules by allegedly meeting with a former Ukrainian official to get dirt on the Bidens on a taxpayer-funded trip.
At least one outside group has filed a complaint against Nunes with the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which can review cases against lawmakers and refer them to the House Ethics Committee.
The Democratic Coalition, a liberal group, filed an ethics complaint against Nunes, with the OCE alleging that he violated House rules by having a conflict of interest in the impeachment inquiry if he had interactions with people under investigation and by engaging in political activity while on official business.
“Rep. Nunes is currently engaged in overseeing an investigation which it appears he is a fact witness, and which may examine his own activities meeting with foreign officials,” the Democratic Coalition wrote in its complaint.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers have also suggested there may be a need for an investigation into Nunes, who has played a prominent role in the impeachment inquiry as the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and a chief defender of President Trump.
“I think there certainly is a potential — if it’s true — a potential ethics inquiry that needs to take place. If he was on a political errand for the president, that was using taxpayer funds inappropriately, and he should be investigated by the Ethics Committee, and he should be forced to repay the Treasury the money that was spent for what was a purely political activity,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” on Monday.