Georgia Democrats Press for Wrapup of Deal Investigation

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Georgia Democrats this week called for the House ethics committee to wrap up its investigation of Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) before he leaves Congress at the end of March.

In a Monday letter to the ethics panel, Georgia Democratic Party Chairman Jane Kidd implored the committee to complete its inquiry before Deal’s scheduled March 31 resignation. He is leaving to dedicate himself full time to his gubernatorial campaign.

“We believe that this affords the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct an opportunity to resolve the Deal investigation,” Kidd wrote, citing Deal’s decision to postpone his original Monday departure date. Deal announced March 4 he would remain in Congress to vote on the health care bill at the urging of House GOP leaders.

In mid-December, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained records via the state’s Open Records Act indicating that both the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Office of Congressional Ethics had contacted state offices about Deal.

Deal subsequently acknowledged a congressional ethics investigation into a state-funded program that benefits his family auto-salvage business, but he denied any wrongdoing.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003358283