Rep. David Schweikert agrees to $50,000 fine, admits 11 ethics violations
FILE – In this Nov. 8, 2017 file photo, Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., makes a point during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House Ethics Committee says it’s reviewing an independent watchdog’s referral of Republican Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona and his chief of staff. The committee’s announcement Thursday indicates the independent Office of Congressional Ethics determined there was substantial reason to believe ethics violations occurred. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(The Center Square) – An extensive investigation into U.S. Rep. David Schweikert has ended, with the Fountain Hills Republican paying a fine and admitting to nearly a dozen ethics violations, including using campaign funds for personal use and pressuring staffers into political work.
The House Ethics Committee announced the conclusion of the inquiry Thursday.
Investigators concluded Schweikert “violated House Rules, the Code of Ethics for Government Service, federal laws and other applicable standards in connection with: campaign finance violations and reporting errors by his authorized campaign committees; the misuse of his Members’ Representational Allowance for unofficial purposes; pressuring official staff to perform campaign work; and his lack of candor and due diligence during the investigation.”
The allegations first came to light in 2017.
In the following years, Schweikert was not as cooperative as the investigative subcommittee would have liked.
“Throughout the course of this investigation, Representative Schweikert made vague or misleading statements to the ISC and OCE that allowed him to evade the statute of limitations for the most egregious violations of campaign finance laws, his document productions were slow or non-responsive to several of the ISC’s requests for information regarding FEC errors, and he gave self-serving testimony that lacked candor,” they said in their findings. “Efforts like the ones Representative Schweikert undertook to delay and impede the ISC’s investigation were not only highly detrimental to the Committee’s work and reputation of the House, they were themselves sanctionable misconduct.”
Schweikert largely blamed the spending issues on Oliver Schwab, who managed his congressional office. Schweikert fired Schwab, who he said was also a family friend, shortly after the allegations came to light.
He criticized the commission’s use of Schwab’s testimony, often giving his record of the facts more credence than the statement of a sitting congressman.
Schweikert said he disagreed with a number of the committee’s findings but didn’t want to pursue a costly adjudicatory process.
“Although the adjudicatory process would provide me an opportunity to challenge aspects of the Report and SAV I believe to be misleading, inaccurate, or unfair, it would require financial resources that I do not have and would significantly delay closure for me and my family,” he said.
Schweickert is due to face Dr. Hiral Tiperneni, Anita Malik, Karl Gentles, or Stephanie Rimmer in November. His district, which includes northern Scottsdale, leans Republican.
To finalize the matter, the House must adopt a resolution.
