After nearly four years, the Justice Department has ended its investigation of Rep. Alan Mollohan’ (D-WV) without filing criminal charges, Mollohan’s office announced today.
The investigation was thought to center on problems with Mollohan’s financial disclosures, and non-profits he helped create which also benefited from his prodigious earmarking.
The AP reports:
Mollohan maintained he had done nothing wrong and said investigators never contacted him. He said Tuesday he had amended his annual financial reports to correct 20 mistakes that he called “unintentional and immaterial.” … Ben Friedman, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., confirmed the office has ended its probe, which Mollohan blamed on what he called right-wing attacks and a “politically motivated assault” on his character.The investigation started after the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group, filed a 500-page complaint in February 2006 alleging that Mollohan consistently undervalued his assets on congressional financial reports. The group did not immediately reply to requests for comment Tuesday.
The development is a boost for Mollohan’s electoral prospects in the fall; at least seven Republicans are gunning for a chance to face the longtime congressman in the general election.
But his troubles may not be over quite yet. Melanie Sloan of Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington points out that the end of the DOJ probe may well mean the resumption a congressional ethics investigation that was on hold.
You can read TPMmuckraker’s extensive coverage of the Mollohan probe here.
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