WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Ethics Committee said Friday it is forming an investigative panel to determine whether Republican Rep. Ed Whitfield violated congressional rules by allowing his wife to lobby staff members on issues related to her work.
The committee will examine allegations Whitfield improperly used his official position to benefit himself, his wife or her employer, The Humane Society of the United States.
Whitfield, in his 11th term representing western Kentucky, called the allegations politically motivated by opponents of his work to regulate the Tennessee walking horse industry.
Whitfield’s wife, Constance Harriman Whitfield, is a lobbyist for the Humane Society Legislative Fund. She worked with her husband on a bill he sponsored to ban a practice that manipulates a walking horse’s hooves to produce an exaggerated, high-stepping gait. The practice, known as “soring,” is considered abusive by some animal welfare groups.
“The allegation that my wife lobbied my office or my staff to convince me to introduce and pass the legislation is absurd,” Whitfield said Friday in a statement. “This is an issue I have followed for many years. I introduced the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act because in my humble opinion it was the right thing to do.”