Virginia congressman under investigation in the House

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Virginia Politics

Virginia congressman under investigation in the House

By Jenna Portnoy July 24 at 6:02 PM [link:[e-mail]|Email the author]

Congressional investigators want to know whether Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-Va.) asked staff members to do personal errands for him or his family and whether his use of alcohol interfered with his official duties, according to letters to former staff members. ... The questions are at the heart of confidential investigations by the House Ethics Committee and the Office of Congressional Ethics of Garrett, a first-term congressman representing Charlottesville, inquiries sent in the past week show.

Garrett has not taken a drink in the nearly two months since he announced his struggle with alcoholism and that he would not seek reelection, Bill Janis, his newly hired chief of staff, said Tuesday. He said Garrett has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. ... “Precisely because he was in the public eye and running for public office, he couldn’t admit he was an alcoholic and seek help,” Janis said. “He’s firing on a lot more cylinders now that he’s clean and sober.”

Garrett hired Janis after a hectic period in his office earlier this year, when he dismissed his former chief of staff and tried to fend off allegations in a Politico article from unnamed staff members who accused the congressman of mistreating them. ... Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have reached out to former staff members to determine whether Garrett violated House rules or laws by asking taxpayer-funded employees to perform personal tasks and whether his drinking or use of other substances interfered with his official duties, according to a letter the committee sent to a former staff member.

“I know of no scenario where he was drinking on the job,” said one former staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential investigation.
....

Jenna Portnoy covers Virginia, Maryland and D.C. politics for The Washington Post. She previously worked for the Newark Star-Ledger and the Allentown Morning Call, and has been a newspaper reporter since 2001. Follow https://twitter.com/jennaportnoy

The RT-D ran the story too.

Outgoing Rep. Tom Garrett faces congressional ethics inquiries over errands by staff, drinking

BY JENNA PORTNOY The Washington Post 13 hrs ago

[old guy]

1. He should resign immediately! Lock him up!!

This behavior is not acceptable and must be punished..Oh he's not a Democrat, he's a Republican, never mind then.

[phylny]

2. He's "my" congressman.

He's rude, divisive, and unfit for office. He doesn't represent everyone in his district, he says, just the people who voted for him.

[Yonnie3]

3. "mine" too

"One term Tom"

He's not running for re-election and says he is seeking treatment for alcohol abuse, IMO he should resign now.