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Andrews defends ethics charges, blasts local paper
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) blasted his local newspaper this week as he vehemently denied violating House ethics rules.
Andrews, in a Gloucester County Times op-ed published Monday, said the paper’s editorial board was guilty of “irresponsible journalism at its worst” while “falsely and maliciously repeating half-truths.”
Andrews was responding to a piece published by the Gloucester County Times editorial board in the Sept. 16 edition of the paper, which has a circulation of about 24,000 households, that called on the 11-term lawmaker to resign in the face of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations against him.
“Such high-profile investigations will not only absorb much of Andrews’ time and energy for the remainder of this session but, even in the unlikely event that he should be completely exonerated, irreparably destroy his effectiveness,” said the editorial board.
“Andrews has made one dumb move after another, even if the actions skirt the edge of legality.”
The articles allege the lawmaker used more than $9,000 in campaign funds to pay for a trip to Scotland with his wife and two children, and more than $10,000 to host a party at Andrews’s home celebrating his congressional service and his daughter's graduation. The paper also stated that Andrews’s campaign made a $12,500 donation to a local theater gala in which his daughter was performing.
Andrews rebuffed the allegations and criticized the attacks for taking aim on his family.
“I have always followed and abided by all rules and standards of the House of Representatives,” said Andrews in his op-ed. “I have always disclosed every dollar of campaign funds I have ever raised or spent.”
“Everyone who puts his or her name on the ballot accepts the duty to bear the criticism of our political debate,” he continued. “I accept and understand this reality. But no one should accept press coverage that defames members of an elected official's family, and our family most certainly does not.”
A Washington D.C.-based watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed a separate complaint against Andrews last year with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), citing the same Star-Ledger articles.
In a later statement, CREW alleged that Andrews directed $8,700 campaign contributions to his wife’s employer, Rutgers School of Law in Camden, where she is associate dean of enrollment.
Andrews criticized CREW for not disclosing where it receives its funding and suggested the group attacks the ethics records of members of Congress in exchange for financial backing from “secret donors.” Andrews added that the FEC has not taken any action on the allegations against him.
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