Official ethics report accuses congressman Alex Mooney of using official staff for personal errands

The Office of Congressional Ethics released a report on Monday that accuses West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney (R) of several possible ethics violations, including using his official staff to run personal errands like driving him to his children’s sporting events and walking the family dog.

The report says Mooney may have “accepted a free or below-market-value trip to Aruba,” misused taxpayer funds, and used staff for campaign work and “personal errands.” Additionally, the report shows Mooney may also have “withheld, concealed, or falsified” information turned over to the ethics office during the course of the investigation.

In the 54-page document, OCE outlines several instances in which his congressional staffers were asked to perform duties that are unrelated to his office, such as babysitting Mooney’s children, walking his dog, and chauffeuring Mooney’s children to and from school. A former staffer said they had driven Mooney to and from his son’s basketball game one afternoon, trekking over 250 miles for the non-work related trip from Washington, DC, to Richmond, Virginia.

Congressional ethics rules state staffers are not to be used to perform personal errands or duties for congressional representatives, and can only perform “legitimate, official activity” during work hours. The report shows Mooney’s staff were consistently asked to complete campaign activity for Mooney while on the clock as congressional staffers.

Mooney won his primary against Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) this week after receiving an endorsement from former president Donald Trump. Mooney credited Trump for his win. “Donald Trump loves West Virginia and West Virginia loves Donald Trump,” Mooney told supporters after winning on Tuesday. Mooney will face off against Barry Wendell in November.