The U.S. House Ethics Commission conducted a preliminary investigation into the treatment of staff by House member Victoria Spartz in response to numerous complaints filed regarding alleged "abuse", "general toxicity" and "rage" by an Indiana Republican, citing the words of the current and former aide who filed complaints and who have been contacted by investigators in recent weeks, Politico reports, UNN writes.
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The aides, who were granted anonymity for fear of payment by Spartz, said their complaints were filed by investigators before Spartz won its primaries last month. According to aides, investigators have informed them that the Ethics Commission will not launch a formal investigation until then, given the potential for election interference.
According to these two sources, Spartz's "violent behavior" has continued ever since. "Over the past few weeks, it has introduced pay cuts to some employees by tens of thousands of dollars, which came amid constant complaints about the work of its employees. In April, Spartz sent employees a note prohibiting them from talking to Politico reporters who collected information about her office.
According to two people, two senior employees of the Ethics Commission interviewed at least three additional current or former employees about the office culture, as well as the misuse of taxpayer resources. The publication notes that in April, it received text messages sent between employees of the ethics department and a former assistant, who shared with investigators the names and phone numbers of current employees.
A former Spartz employee said that at the end of last month, one of the investigators reported that the commission's assistants were still collecting materials, waiting for permission from the committee leaders to start an official investigation.
As noted, two previously mentioned individuals, who were also granted anonymity, told ethics investigators about cases of verbal abuse.
Two people said the ethics investigation also concerns the use of taxpayer-funded resources by the House of Representatives to campaign during the Legislature's business hours. According to these two people, Sparta sometimes asks employees about the company's problems when she calls them on their official phones while they are in the office.
According to a person familiar with the situation, on Tuesday, its chief of staff, Patrick Slavyansky, resigned after working in this position for less than a month. He declined to comment. Michael Stevens, who has been Spartz's director of public relations since January, also resigned on Tuesday night, according to the same person.
After receiving notice of the ethical investigation, Spartz said she was "not sure what you're talking about.
Campaign adviser Dan Geiselwood later responded with a statement that the Ethics Committee staff had not contacted Spartz.
Tom Rust, the Ethics Commission's general counsel and HR director, declined to comment.