Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(8)(C)(ii) and Committee Rule 17A(h)(2), the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics (Committee) determined on March 23, 2018, to release the following statement:
On August 31, 2016, the Committee received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) regarding whether Representative Duncan Hunter converted campaign funds to personal use to pay expenses that were not legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes. In response to a request from the Department of Justice, the Committee unanimously voted to defer consideration of this matter, and announced that deferral in a public statement dated March 23, 2017.
The Committee continues to defer consideration of this matter at this time. At least annually, the Committee will make a public statement if it continues to defer taking action on the matter. The Committee notes that the mere fact of its decision to defer action on this matter, and any mandatory disclosure of that decision, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.