Review panel: Rep. Grayson likely violated law, House rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional review panel said Tuesday there is "substantial reason to believe" that Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida violated federal law and broke House rules in a number of business and legal activities and in managing his congressional office.

Grayson, who is running for the Senate, remains under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over the allegations, which center on a hedge fund he started when he was outside Congress and legal work done by others for which Grayson may have been paid while he was in office.

Grayson also faces allegations that he used his official congressional staff for purposes unrelated to his congressional work and conducted interviews about his Senate campaign in his House office, a possible violation of federal law and House rules.

The ethics committee's Republican chairman and senior Democrat said in a joint statement that the panel is reviewing a referral from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, an outside panel that reviews ethics complaints against House members.

The review panel said in a 74-page report released Tuesday that it "identified potential violations under federal law, House rules and standards of Congress" after examining Grayson's hedge fund, law firms and business arrangements, and for alleged "numerous omissions" of information about his business arrangements and assets from the financial disclosure statements that lawmakers must file.