U.S. Rep. Mike Collins speaks at a Donald Trump rally in 2024. (File photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia and his chief of staff are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, although the panel did not elaborate Friday on why it is investigating their actions.
The low press release said the committee would “announce its approach to this matter on or before” Jan. 5 and that an investigation “does not itself suggest that a violation has occurred or reflect judgment on behalf of the committee.”
Collins became a member of Congress and represented the state 10th Congressional Districtin January 2023. Since then, he has set his sights on the US Senate and is one of several Republican politicians runs in the primary area for the chance to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in next year’s midterm elections.
A spokesman for Collins declined to investigate the congressman and his chief of staff, Brandon Phillips.
“This false transfer is nothing more than a desperate and baseless attack by Rep. Collins’ political opponents,” the spokesman wrote in an email. “We look forward to the Ethics Committee completing its work and dismissing this frivolous complaint. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The spokesman claimed that the Ethics Committee was not investigating, but that its members were reviewing “a referral” that the Office of Congressional Conduct, formerly the Office of Congressional Ethics, sent on October 7.
“Furthermore, this is not an ‘ethics investigation’. A referral was made to the Ethics Committee,” the spokesperson wrote in a second email. “Please ensure that all reports reflect the accuracy of the letter.”
The House Ethics Committee has announced numerous investigations into lawmakers this year, including one earlier this week in Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida.
