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Watchdog Files Ethics Complaint Over NJ Democrat's Use of House Email for Campaign

Rep. Josh Gottheimer's staff violated rule prohibiting use of taxpayer resource for campaign use

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) listens to President Donald Trump / Getty Images
February 1, 2018

A watchdog group has filed an official ethics complaint regarding the use by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) of an official House of Representatives email address to announce his campaign's fundraising haul.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to open an investigation of Gottheimer on Thursday, citing an email sent earlier this week by his communications director Abhi Rahman. The email was sent from an official "mail.house.gov" address and linked to the "Josh Gottheimer for Congress" filing to the Federal Election Committee, a blatant violation of rules prohibiting the use of official resources for political activities.

"House ethics rules prohibiting the use of official government resources for campaign related activities is meant to ensure representatives don't abuse taxpayer funds and use them for their own personal or political gain," said Kendra Arnold, FACT's executive director.

Gottheimer's office was initially called out for the violation by NorthJersey.com. His office told reporters it was a "mistake," and "the office has a very strict policy banning any campaign work on official time."

Arnold expressed doubt that it was a mistake in her call for further investigation into the activities of Gottheimer's staff.

"Although Gottheimer's office acknowledged the violation, he only did so after being called out by the media," Arnold said. "Since we do not believe this was an inadvertent mistake, it is critical these actions be investigated further."

FACT calls for OCE to request "Gottheimer's staff to produce detailed records of the time spent on official activities and on separate campaign activities" and for an investigation into "Gottheimer's involvement in the email and his policies on staff involvement with his campaign."

The email in question linked to a Politico New Jersey blurb referring to the congressman as "GOTT-MONEY-HEIMER," and asked reporters to contact a number provided on his official House website for questions about the fundraising.

The full complaint as well as the email the complaint is centered on can be viewed here.

Gottheimer's office did not respond to a request for comment on the FACT complaint.

Published under: 2018 Election , Ethics