House Ethics Committee Reviewing Rep. Trahan's Campaign Finances

ANDOVER, MA — The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday that it is reviewing allegations that Rep. Lori Trahan's campaign violated campaign finance laws. According to documents released by the committee, congressional ethics investigators found "substantial reason to believe" that Trahan's campaign accepted contributions beyond legal limits, and failed to disclose required information in filings. Investigators wrote that Trahan's husband, David Trahan, made $300,000 in contributions, beyond the maximum $2,700 allowed, which the campaign disguised as personal loans from the candidate.

The referral, from the Office of Congressional Ethics, came in September, and the committee decided in November to extend its review into Trahan's campaign finances, they said Tuesday.

In a response to the office's referral, Trahan's lawyers argued that because the couple had agreed when they got married that they would have equal access to all income, the money was already Trahan's "personal funds" even before it was transferred into the joint account by her husband.

The freshman congresswoman, a Westford Democrat, was elected following a tightly contested primary, in which she beat Dan Koh of Andover in a 10-way race by 0.1 percent following a recount. The cash infusion, from a joint account, came just days before that primary vote.

In their story on the ethics committee's announcement, the Boston Globe notes that the existence of the account was not initially reported on Trahan's campaign finance forms.

"Trahan didn’t report the joint account on required federal disclosure forms until after the November election, when the Globe began asking questions about the source of the last-minute infusion of cash into the campaign," they wrote.

The Globe also reported that Trahan released a statement in October admitting to using her husband's income to give herself a personal loan.

"She argued that she viewed her husband’s money as her own and framed the financial maneuvering as falling into a “gray area” of campaign finance law," they wrote.

Investigators said in their referral to the committee that Trahan, her husband and her campaign did not cooperate with the investigation. They recommended that the committee issue subpoenas.

The ethics committee's release is limited, saying only that the chairman and ranking member (a Democrat and a Republican) decided in November to extend their review of the referral.

"The 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," they underscored.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.