ETHICS

I NVESTIGATION O F C ONGRESSMAN M IKE H ONDA's ( CD-17)

OFFICE W ILL C ONCLUDE M AY 2015

San Jose, CA - A congressional ethics investigation into Rep. M ike Hondas 2014
re-election campaign and oce practices began on January 29, 2015.
The main issue being investigated is whether Congressman Hondas oce
improperly used ocial resources to support his campaign.
After completing a 30-day preliminary review, the Oce of Congressional E thics
('OCE') determined there was enough evidence to continue to second stage
review. T he second stage of the investigation will conclude at the end of April
2015.
After the investigation is complete, if the board of the OCE determines that there
is a substantial reason to believe the underlying ethics allegations, a referral will be
made to the House E thics Committee.
The OCE board will vote on this referral at the M ay 2015 monthly meeting of the
board.
--[Note: information that is not currently public ends here]--
The OCE was recently in the news because Rep. A aron S chock resigned when an
investigation reached the preliminary review stage. N otably, Rep Honda's
investigation has already extended beyond where former Rep. S hock chose to
resign. T he issues Congressman Honda's oce is being investigated for received
some attention during the 2014 election cycle, when Congressman Honda faced a
challenge from Ro K hanna.
According to Jeremy B ird, who was M r. K hannas consultant for the 2014 race,
these ethics allegations were crucial to converting the challengers 20-point
primary decit into a dead heat (link). In the same memo, M r. B ird stated: "[o]
verall, the ethics scandalhas received more local coverage than any other
aspect or development in the race.
Previous media coverage includes: A BC 7 N ews (link), the Los A ngeles T imes
(link, link2), the S an Francisco Chronicle (link, link2), the S an Jose M ercury N ews
(link) and T he Hill (link) based upon S an Jose Inside's original story (link) and
follow up report (link).
T he Congressman's chief of sta apologized for the potentially improper activities
(link). Congressman Honda responded to the allegations by promising to
cooperate with any investigation (link). A n October 2014 poll concluded that 67%
of likely voters in California's 17th Congressional D istrict were concerned about
the matter currently being investigated (link see question 9).
###