In addition to concluding that the trade was atypical for theР’В Kellys, the ethics officeР’В found that information flowed from the commerce department to Cleveland Cliffs and then on toР’В the congressman. Kelly had advocated for the departmentРІР‚в„ўs probe, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. The purchase took place five days before the Department of Commerce announced an investigation into steel imports that stood to benefit the company. In April 2020, KellyРІР‚в„ўs wife, Virginia, bought at least $15,000 of shares in Cleveland Cliffs, a steel producer. The six-term congressman may have misused confidential information for personal gain, the ethics office found. Subscribe to Forbes'Р’В Checks & Imbalances newsletter for an in-depth look at the politicians, businesses and money sloshing around Washington, D.C. Moreover, he had no knowledge of the underlying issues and has acted in good faith throughout.РІР‚Сњ РІР‚СљHe self-reported the matter to the ethics committee and will continue to work with it to bring it to a conclusion. Hagedorn acted in a responsible and transparent manner as soon as he learned about the mailing issue, an attorney for the congressman said in a statement. The congressman also may have violated campaign-finance rules, according to the ethics office, when his campaign appeared to allow a donor to provide office space for free, an arrangement first reported by Politico. After LegiStorm first reported the officeРІР‚в„ўs spending in June 2020, Hagedorn fired his chief of staff and commissioned an internal review. Those companiesР’В providedР’В his office with mailing and design servicesР’В but received unusually high compensation. The ethics office found that the two-term congressman may have misused official funds by hiring firms connected to two of his staffers.

Unlike the independentР’В Office of Congressional Ethics, that 10-member panel is empowered to subpoena and sanction House members. Probes into the possible violationsР’В have moved on to the bipartisan House Committee on Ethics for further review.

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