House Ethics Committee considering allegations against Nancy Mace

The bipartisan House Ethics Committee is weighing allegations against South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.

The panel, in a statement Friday, did not explain the reason for its probe that the Office of Congressional Conduct, an independent ethics watchdog, transmitted a referral late last year. The committee must announce its plans for the investigation by March 2.

In response to a request for comment on the committee’s plans, a spokesperson for Mace provided a letter to the House Ethics Committee from the lawmaker’s attorney in response to claims regarding her “lodging expenses and reimbursement practices.”

William Sullivan Jr., a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, asserted in the letter that the Office of Congressional Conduct — the quasi-independent agency that accepts and vets outside complaints against House members and staff — did not disclose if Mace’s ex-fiancé or his associates were involved in their probe. Information provided from her former partner would be suspect, Sullivan argued.

“[T]he referral appears to rely heavily on unverified materials originating from individuals with personal or adversarial motives, while leaving unanswered whether those individuals contributed to the information underlying the OCC’s analysis,” Sullivan wrote.

Mace’s spokesperson also pointed to a statement from November, in which Mace claimed the OCC probe was the result of retribution and denied charges of wrongdoing.

Mace previously championed the cause to censure Rep. Cory Mills regarding ongoing ethics allegations against the embattled Florida Republican. That effort failed on the House floor, after a dramatic standoff between Mills and Mace.