Yesterday, Florida Congressman Alan Grayson submitted a formal ethics complaint against Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Trey Gowdy for violating federal law and House rules by using the Benghazi Committee, and thus federal funds, for political purposes. The complaint is based on McCarthy’s appearance on Fox News with Sean Hannity on September 29, where McCarthy admitted that the Benghazi committee has been a sham meant to destroy Hillary Clinton’s chance of winning the presidential election.
“This is a clear and unequivocal misuse of appropriated funds for political purposes,” Grayson wrote in his complaint, asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate both McCarthy and Gowdy.
The committee has spent $4.6 million in federal funds over the course of its 17-month investigation. Spending by the Benghazi Select Committee has already outpaced the entire annual budget of the House Intelligence Committee, with the Benghazi Committee’s 18 GOP staffers enjoying an average full-time salary of more than $128,000 per year.
The Benghazi investigation is the longest congressional investigation in U.S. history. The previous record-holder was the Watergate probe in the 1970s. In comparison, congressional investigations into the attack on Pearl Harbor, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and the Iran-Contra scandal all took less than a year to complete.
While appearing on Fox News, McCarthy stated: “Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” he said. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought.”
Watch as Grayson joins Thom Hartmann to discuss his filing seeking an ethics investigation.
Watch McCarthy on Hannity:
