Hill watchdog says GOP Rep. Nehls may have misused campaign funds for personal use

By Melanie Zanona, CNN

(CNN) — The Office of Congressional Ethics, a nonpartisan Capitol Hill watchdog, said there is “probable cause” to believe GOP Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas misused campaign funds for personal use – which he denies.

The OCE’s December report was released Friday by the House Ethics Committee, which is still reviewing whether to take up the case.

OCE looked into thousands of dollars in rent payments that Nehls’ campaign made to an LLC that is registered under the congressman’s name and listed at his home address. His campaign headquarters, however, is listed at a different address, according to the report, which raises questions about whether the payments are “legitimate” campaign expenses.

The report also said Nehls may have omitted information from his annual financial disclosure statements.

The OCE report noted that Nehls refused to cooperate with the office’s probe, but the congressman has previously said he would cooperate with the House Ethics Committee, which is a bipartisan panel.

A January statement from Jerad Najvar, an attorney for Nehls, was released alongside the OCE report denying the allegations and saying the rent payments were legitimate campaign expenses. The attorney said the rent payments were made by the LLC to Freedom Hall, which is the venue listed at the address of the campaign headquarters.

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