US House ethics panel extends Renacci probe

WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee has extended its investigation of charges that Rep. Jim Renacci used his congressional office to promote his brief gubernatorial candidacy.

In a statement on Monday, the committee announced simply that the chairman and ranking member of the committee had “jointly decided to extend the matter” regarding Renacci that the committee was presented on Aug. 9.

The Office of Congressional Ethics had received a fivepage complaint in April from the Ohio Democratic Party accusing Renacci of using his congressional website to promote his gubernatorial candidacy; tweeting about his campaign on his official House Twitter account; tweeting a picture of him engaging in a campaign activity in his House office; and sharing a photo of him at a congressional hearing on his campaign Facebook page.

Renacci, who is leaving the House on Jan. 3, ran for governor before jumping into the U.S. Senate race against Sen. Sherrod Brown, D–Ohio. Renacci lost that race by about 6 percentage points.

In announcing the extension, the panel noted that “does not itself indicate that Renacci any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee.”

Kelsey Knight, a spokeswoman for Renacci, said the Ohio Democratic Party’s complaint was “baseless.”

“Our office has made clear that it would work closely with ethics officials to set the record straight,” she said.

In the original complaint, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said that by using official resources for political purposes, “Representative Renacci is undermining the credibility and dignity of the House.”

Pepper’s letter listed a series of actions that he said violate congressional rules. For example, on Sept. 8, 2017, Renacci posted on his congressional website a column he wrote for the Toledo Blade detailing the actions he’d take if elected to be Ohio’s next governor.

Five days later, he posted a column on his website that he wrote for the Capitol Hill publication The Hill detailing how he would fight the opioid crisis if elected governor. And on Jan. 12, 2018, his official House Twitter page twice advertised a Fox News interview detailing Renacci’s decision to run for the Senate and publicized a series of radio interviews in which he discussed his Senate candidacy.

“We’re pleased to see this moving forward,” said ODP spokeswoman Lara Sisselman.