Outgoing Upper East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is the subject of an ethics investigation, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee announced Friday, adding it would delay any action taken until next month.
According to the Ethics Committee, the matter came to their attention back in late June, though it’s not clear what exactly the committee is investigating.
The Ethics Committee says congressional rules require the disclosure of the ethics investigation’s extension— which is the only reason why we even know an investigation is happening, as no other details have been released.
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The committee notes that the existence of an investigation— and the extension— do not indicate whether any violation has actually occurred.
Maloney will be leaving House of Representatives come next year, after being defeated by longtime Upper West Side Congressman Jerry Nadler in August’s Democratic primary election.
Prior to that primary vote, Gothamist revealed that Rep. Maloney’s Office had “sent nearly 26,000 letters to constituents that some voters say read like campaign ads.”
House of Representatives’ rules prohibit mailings to more than 500 people within 60 days of the election, to avoid giving the incumbent an advantage— which for New York, the blackout would have begun June 24th.
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Back then, Maloney’s office copped to the mailings during the blackout period, telling Gothamist they were sent out in batches of 499 each.
“This clearly is an attempt to get around the law,” Richard Painter, former White House chief ethics attorney under President George W. Bush, told Gothamist.
According to the committee, they were notified of the matter under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics on June 23rd, a day before the blackout period began.
The House Ethics Committee says it will announce its course of action regarding the outgoing congresswoman by Monday, November 21st.
Upper East Site reached out to Congresswoman Maloney’s Office for comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.
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