Republican booted from ethics panel amid misconduct claim

WASHINGTON— Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., lost his seat on the House ethics panel Saturday and will undergo his own misconduct investigation. The New York Times reported Saturday that a former female aide accused Meehan of making unwanted romantic overtures and that the lawmaker used taxpayer funds to keep the complaint quiet. Meehan denied the accusation Saturday, but Republican Party leaders moved quickly to unseat him from the House Ethics Committee, which will review his actions. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told Politico that Ryan spoke with Meehan after the Times published its report and Meehan immediately agreed to submit himself for the ethics review. Meehan, 62, is married with three children. He first joined Congress in 2011. Multiple members have resigned or decided not to run for reelection amid a flurry of sexual misconduct claims on Capitol Hill. As part of the ethics panel, Meehan helped lead the investigations into those claims, including against Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who used taxpayer funds to silence a misconduct complaint. Conyers denied any misconduct but resigned in December just two weeks after the first report detailing the woman’s accusations.