House Ethics Panel Starts Kim Investigation

The GOP chairman of the House ethics committee and the panel’s Democratic member have launched an investigation of Rep. Jay Kim (R-Diamond Bar), who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations this summer.

Although the probe is not unexpected, given Kim’s admitted criminal activity, its co-sponsorship by a fellow Republican--Rep. James Hansen of Utah--came as a bit of a surprise and could help deflect accusations that the ethics panel is a forum more for partisanship than for policing lawmakers’ behavior.

“It just indicates the seriousness of the situation,” said an aide to the House Republican leadership, who asked not to be named.

The announcement came just hours after the ethics panel--officially known as the Committee on Standards of Official Behavior--emerged from a seven-month hibernation in which it accepted no new complaints concerning House members.

As committee staff members begin looking into Kim’s activities, the panel itself has only two members--Hansen and Rep. Howard Berman (D-Los Angeles), who joined in the call for the Kim investigation. But 10 more members, five from each party, are expected to be named shortly.

Neither Hansen nor Berman would comment on the Kim matter, simply releasing a one-sentence statement Thursday.

“We intend to recommend an investigation of the Jay Kim matter and have instructed committee staff to meet with Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles to gather additional information,” the two lawmakers wrote.

First elected in 1992, Kim is the only Korean American in Congress and represents a swath of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. In July, he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors: accepting a $50,000 donation from a Taiwanese national; taking an illegal $12,000 contribution from a New York corporation; and directing his own company, JayKim Engineers, to provide $83,000 in services to his campaign.

Kim and his wife, who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, face up to six months in prison and fines of $135,000. His campaign committee faces $2.5 million in fines for five felonies.

“The only reaction we have is that the matter is before the ethics committee,” said Matthew Reynolds, Kim’s chief of staff. “We have no further comment at this time.”

Aides to Hansen and Berman would not say what the scope of their investigation would be. The Federal Election Commission also looked into the Kim case, but announced last month that it would not file charges.