Rep. Nancy Mace is under investigation by the House ethics committee after the Office of Congressional Conduct found “substantial reason to believe” that the South Carolina Republican “engaged in improper reimbursement practices.”
All six members of the nonpartisan Congressional Conduct board voted to recommend that the committee further look into the accusations that Ms. Mace “exceeded her reimbursable expenses incurred.”
The referral alleges that Ms. Mace requested and received the maximum reimbursement allowed for lawmakers to expense for costs including lodging for her property in Washington
A review of invoices and documents by the OCC found “discrepancies between the amounts requested and received by Rep. Mace for reimbursement and the total of these associated bills,” according to the report.
The report alleges that Ms. Mace received almost $9,500 in excess payments between 2023 and 2024.
It also noted that Ms. Mace did not cooperate with the OCC’s review.
“Because Rep. Mace declined to interview with the OCC in this review, the OCC was unable to confirm the extent of Rep. Mace’s financial obligations with respect to the DC Property,” the report says.
Ms. Mace’s lawyer, William Sullivan, called the report “fundamentally flawed in several significant respects.”
He wrote that the report’s “narrative appears to incorporate unverified assertions and materials that may have originated from, or been influenced by, Rep. Mace’s former fiance, Brendan Patrick Bryant.”
Ms. Mace accused Mr. Bryant and other men of sexual abuse in a House floor speech last February. Mr. Bryant has since filed a defamation suit against the congresswoman.
Her attorney wrote that Ms. Mace “is confident that the Committee will carefully evaluate the origins and credibility of the information at issue and will recognize the significant deficiencies that undermine the Referral Report’s persuasive value.”
The lawyer wrote that Ms. Mace “remains available to provide any additional information that may assist in its review,” despite the OCC saying she didn’t cooperate with the initial review.
This report comes just days after Ms. Mace has introduced a resolution to force the House ethics committee to preserve and publicly release all information and documents it has on any lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct.
She said last week that she will go to the House floor Wednesday to trigger a vote on the measure.
