Newman Responds To Allegations That She Bribed Primary Opponent

CHICAGO — An investigative report from the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason” to believe that U.S. Rep. Marie Newman may have violated federal law when she allegedly offered a potential opponent a job on her staff if he wouldn’t run in the 2020 Democratic primary in Illinois’s 3rd Congressional District.

Newman is presently in a heated primary battle that has her pitted against Democrat U.S. Rep Sean Casten in the newly remapped 6th Congressional District, where much of her base that helped her beat Dan Lipinski in the 2020 primary and election.

As reported by Patch in May 2021, Iymen Chehade, an adjunct history professor at Columbia College, sued Newman for breach of contract. According to the complaint, Chehade began a mulling a run in the 2020 congressional Democratic primary. Newman also planned a second run for Congress in the 3rd District, having lost the 2018 primary district by a narrow margin to incumbent Dan Lipinski.

>>> Rep. Marie Newman Sued Over 'Breach Of Contract' For District Job

Aware of the IL-03 district's large Palestinian-American community, Chehade claimed that Newman reached out to him in 2018, offering him a paid position on her staff that would have paid in the six figures, in exchange for dropping out of the primary. Chehade maintains he accepted her offer and dropped out of the primary race, of which Newman claims Chehade was never a serious candidate.

Chehade and Newman signed a contract, drafted by his attorney, allegedly sealing their agreement. When she failed to hire him for a staff position after winning the 2020 election, he filed a breach of contract lawsuit.

Election laws prohibit "quid pro quo" by candidates using future taxpayer money to reward someone for work they're doing when campaigning.

Newman’s attorney stated in a response to the House Ethics Committee this past November, that Chehade never filed with the Federal Election Commission nor did he publicly announce his intentions to run for the primary. Instead, her attorney maintained that Chehade mentioned his interest in running for the Illinois State Senate.

When Chehade introduced the possibility of running in the upcoming primary in an October 2018 email, Newman “reacted negatively” and said there could be no agreement, her attorneys stated.

Newsman’s spokesperson, Pat Mullane, told Patch that Chehade’s lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but was picked up by a conservative watchdog group — the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust — that filed a “politically-motivated complaint” with the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding the dismissed lawsuit.

“The materials produced during the OCE's review overwhelmingly demonstrate that the ethics complaint is completely meritless," Mullane said.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against House members, officers, and staff of the U.S. House of Representatives, stated in its report:

“Rep. Newman, during a successful campaign for election to the U.S. House of Representatives, may have promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support. If Rep. Newman used her candidacy to promise federal employment, she may have violated federal law, House rules, or standards of conduct.”

The OCE board, by a unanimous vote of its six members, recommended that the House Ethics Committee further review the allegations against Newman, “because there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Newman may have promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support.”

Only the House Ethics Committee has the power to punish a lawmaker for wrongdoing. The ethics office turned over its report to the house committee on Monday. Instead of dismissing it, the congressional committee extended the review process.

“The [House Ethics] Committee notes that the mere fact of conducting further review of a referral, and any mandatory disclosure of such further review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” according to a House Ethics Committee news release.

Newman has been cooperating with the investigation and has turned over documents concerning what transpired between her and Chehade.

The first-term Democratic congresswoman is known for her progressive views on race, health care, employment and environment. She has racked up numerous endorsements from pro-choice, union and suburban mayors in the upcoming June primary for the Democratic nomination.