Statement of the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics Regarding Representative Thomas Garrett

Members involved

• Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. (R-VA)

Statement

On June 8, 2018, the Committee authorized an investigation, pursuant to Committee Rule 18(a), into allegations that Representative Thomas Garrett may have improperly required, requested, or allowed members of his official staff to perform unofficial tasks for his and/or his wife’s personal benefit. Subsequently, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) also began an investigation. OCE transmitted a referral regarding similar allegations to the Committee on September 5, 2018, which the Committee published on December 4, 2018, with an announcement that it was already investigating and would continue to review the matter. Representative Garrett did not seek re-election to the House in the 116 th Congress and the Committee will therefore lose jurisdiction over him on January 3, 2019. Given Representative Garrett’s impending departure from the House, the Committee worked expeditiously to investigate the allegations. Over the course of the Committee’s investigation, Committee staff interviewed eleven witnesses, including Representative Garrett, and reviewed over 1,500 pages of documents. In addition, the Committee authorized the issuance of four subpoenas.

Documents

• Statement on ethics.house.gov
• Document 1 (PDF)
• Document 2 (PDF)

More

• All House ethics statements