Politics & Government

House Ethics Committee Expanding Investigation into Tierney

The embattled congressman is in for more scrutiny.

By Bryan McGonigle

The House Ethics Committee has announced plans to expand on an investigation into Congressman John Tierney, the Associated Press is reporting.

The committee did not elaborate on the reasoning behind the expansion, other than to note that the Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent investigative organization. The Ethics Committee is expected to make a decision on the investigation in September.

“I welcome the opportunity to finally put this issue to rest after years of my opponents attacking me and my family," Tierney said in a statement. "For more than three years they have tried repeatedly to misrepresent gifts my wife received from her brother in appreciation for caring for their dying mother and his three children who were without parental supervision."

Tierney's Sixth District includes Salem.

Republicans have been calling for investigation into the Democrat since 2010 when his wife pleaded guilty to helping her fugitive brother manage a bank account into which funds from an illegal offshore gambling business were being funneled.

“There is nothing new that has not already been reviewed in both a court of law and by the voters of my district who sent me back to Congress in two subsequent elections," Tierney said. "While political opponents have spent millions of dollars to twist the facts and distort the truth for their own gain, I appreciate that the Ethics Committee has not prejudged the matter. I hope the Committee will expedite its review and I am confident it will find the allegations meritless as they have no foundation in law or fact."

The scandal led to a tough election season that year against Republican Bill Hudak and an even tougher election against former Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei in 2012, when the scandal remained in the spotlight. That year,
a group of Democrats calling themselves Democrats for Tisei campaigned for Tisei.

In 2014, Tierney will face a Democratic primary challenge from former Marine Seth Moulton. Moulton has ties to the North Shore. He lives in Salem and grew up in Marblehead.


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