House Ethics Committee Rules Rashida Tlaib Violated Campaign Finance Laws

The House Committee on Ethics on Friday ordered Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to pay back $10,800 taken from her 2018 campaign.

“While the Committee recognizes that the campaign environment can at times lend itself to hurried decision-making, as a Member-Elect of Congress, Representative Tlaib had a greater duty to ensure that any funding she received from her Campaign after her general election was fully compliant with statutory requirements and fully transparent with the public,” the committee, chaired by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), wrote in a report. “Based on its review, the Committee determined that Representative Tlaib did not comply with the letter of the relevant laws and regulations governing her receipt of salary payments from her Campaign.”

However, the committee ruled that Tlaib did not attempt to “unjustly enrich herself.”

“In light of this, the Committee determined that no sanction was merited, provided Representative Tlaib returns the funds that she improperly received to her Campaign in full within a year of the date of this Report, with the understanding that she can make smaller payments over the course of the year,” the report concluded.

The ruling comes after Tlaib defeated her primary opponent Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones in Michigan’s 13th District election.

Following her victory, the “Squad” member also released a video message saying that voters “sent a clear message that they’re done waiting for transformative change.”

Last year, Tlaib garnered negative headlines after she vowed to “impeach the motherfucker” — in reference to President Donald Trump — shortly after she was sworn into Congress.