Ethics Panel Opening Probe of Rep. Swindall

The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it is opening a formal preliminary investigation into whether Rep. Pat Swindall (R-Ga.) violated the law or House rules in seeking a loan that he knew was being financed by drug proceeds.

The panel, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, said it had received evidence “reasonably indicating” that Swindall may have departed from acceptable standards in seeking to negotiate the $850,000 loan.

Secretly taped conversations reported last week by the Atlanta Constitution showed that Swindall was told by an undercover agent that the money almost certainly came from drug trafficking, but he continued to pursue the transaction for a month.

The congressman was seeking to refinance a construction loan on his $1.2-million home in Stone Mountain, Ga., near Atlanta, and convert it to a long-term mortgage.

Swindall ultimately backed out of the deal after being told that he would have to accept the cash loan in person and sign a receipt for it.

An aide to Swindall, Bill Thorne, said the Ethics Committee had “done what we asked them to do.” He said Swindall had sought the investigation and was confident that he would be cleared of wrongdoing.