(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/05/2022) An ethics violation complaint filed against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) alleges that she violated House Ethics rules and federal law during a meeting with the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) on May 11.
The complaint states that Slotkin “attended the meeting from her congressional office, presumably with congressional office equipment, with her congressional staffer present, and during the meeting discussed campaign strategy and solicited campaign contributions.”
A spokesperson for the congresswoman told MIRS that she “has spent her career serving the country at the CIA and Pentagon, and she takes ethical standards extremely seriously — and the partisan organization behind this complaint is well known for political hit jobs on members of Congress.”
The Foundation for Accountability & Civil Trust (FACT), a D.C. conservative government ethics watchdog group, filed the complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) on June 9. FACT's website states that the nonprofit holds “a lantern over public officials who put their own interest over the interests of the public good." However, the public officials who have faced FACT's scrutiny are overwhelmingly Democratic lawmakers.
The most recent reference to Republican lawmakers was on Dec. 17, 2018, when U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) were listed as two of FACT's worst ethics violators of 2018.
The virtual meeting at the center of the ethics violation complaint was organized by the JDCA Michigan Chapter during the national Jewish Dems Week of Action. Other speakers scheduled during the week were U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D), U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D), U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D).
The meeting announcement said the meetings were to provide a forum to “discuss key issues of importance to Jewish Americans” with lawmakers which included antisemitism, white supremacism and protection of voting rights.
However, FACT’s complaint alleges that the meeting with Slotkin was instead a campaign event, held during business hours, which, if true, could violate both House Ethics rules and federal law, including Title 18 U.S. Code's place of solicitation section.
Supporting evidence for the complaint was provided in the form of video clips taken from the virtual meeting between Slotkin; Greg Chaffin, Slotkin's national security advisor; Michael Horowitz, JDCA board member; Halie Soifer, CEO of JDCA; and other JDCA staff members.
Toward the end of the 30-minute meeting, Slotkin asked the JDCA to do whatever they could to increase voter registration and voter turnout from Michigan State University students in order for her to “hang on” to her district.
Slotkin was in the meeting for 25 minutes, of which she spent the last four and a half responding to Horowitz's campaign question about how the JDCA could help her with campaign contributions as he told her “the Rs see you as very vulnerable.”
She is currently in a competitive race against Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) for the 7th District seat.
Slotkin told the meeting attendees that the Michigan JDCA chapter should use the Stacey Abrams method of paying MSU students to register their fellow students.
She told the group that this was her “ask” as she did not see herself winning without a “significant turnout from Michigan State students. Full stop.” Slotkin also told Horowitz that this “ask” was “even bigger than all the traditional contributions and visibility and all those great things, which of course I always love.”
Kendra Arnold, executive director for FACT, said in the complaint that “any funds spent on this voter registration would be a coordinated expenditure and an in-kind donation.” The “ask” was a violation of both federal law and House ethics rules, Arnold said.
“The law is clear and straightforward: A Member cannot make any type of campaign solicitation from a congressional building,” she said.
Chapter 4 of the House Ethics Manual states that “House buildings, and House rooms and offices – including district offices – are supported with official funds and hence are considered official resources. Accordingly, as a general rule, they may not be used for the conduct of campaign or political activities. … In addition, House rooms and offices are not to be used for events that are campaign or political in nature, such as a meeting on campaign strategy."
If the OCE finds that Slotkin's actions violate House Ethics rules and federal campaign laws, she could face disciplinary action or criminal prosecution.
“This case is especially egregious because it implicates the foundational ethics principles that members cannot use government resources for their political gain,” Arnold said.
“The context of the conversation shows it was a solicitation. … She was questioned about her campaign needs and she answered by identifying campaign contributions and paid voter registration of Michigan State college students and even stated she was making an ‘ask,'" she said.
Slotkin's spokesperson told MIRS that the May 11 meeting with the JDCA could “in no way” be considered a campaign event.
“The facts are that last month, she held a Congressional meeting with Michiganders to discuss combating antisemitism. During the meeting, a participant asked about her re-election, and she made a brief reference to voter engagement.”
MIRS also contacted FACT and the OCE for comment. Neither responded as of 5:30 p.m.
