Lawmakers request documents on DC councilman ethics investigation

Two House Republicans requested all documents from an ethics investigation into Washington, D.C., councilman Jack Evans (D).

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) sent a letter to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) requesting more information on Evans’s alleged offenses, which include “violations relating to his duty of loyalty to the WMATA Board, his duty to avoid conflicts of interest, and his obligation not to use his office for personal gain,” according to the document.

The letter said the probe will “help us understand the nature, scope, and conclusions of the ethics committee’s investigation into Evans’s conduct.” 

Jordan is the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Meadows is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Government Operations, which both oversee operations in the nation’s capital.

{mosads}According to The Washington Post, Evans is the subject of a grand jury investigation looking into potential ethics violations with clients and whether he used his position on the council for business purposes for his consulting company. The Washington Post also reported that Evans used his position in job pitches at local law firms.

While Evans is still on the D.C. Council, he stepped down as chairman of the WMATA Board.

The lawmakers also address the efforts for statehood for Washington in the letter, writing that Evans has said the city has ” ‘pulled [its] act together’ and is ready to become a state.” 

This is not the first time federal authorities have gotten involved in the Washington case. Last month, the FBI raided Evans’s home as part of the grand jury investigation.

WMATA has as July 30 deadline to supply the documents.