DOJ Probes GOP Rep For Campaign Finance Violations

The Hill reports:

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Rep. Ross Spano (R-Fla.) over allegations of campaign finance violations, the House Ethics Committee announced Thursday.The committee said it had agreed to defer the review of the allegations to the DOJ at the DOJ’s request.

The Ethics Committee had been reviewing the allegations since September. “The Department of Justice has asked the Committee to defer consideration of this matter and the Committee, following precedent, unanimously voted to defer consideration of this matter at this time,” the committee said in the release.

Ahead of the committee’s review, Spano had faced scrutiny for accepting about $180,000 in loans from friends and using it for his congressional campaign as if it were his own money.

Spano first appeared on JMG early in 2018 when as a member of the Florida House, he introduced a resolution arguing that viewing porn can lead to both “mental and physical illnesses” along with “deviant, or problematic sexual behaviors.” That same day Florida Republicans voted down a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of Parkland.