Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

Outspoken state Rep. Brian Sims, D-Philadelphia, is hitting back at his critics, saying a state Ethics Commission probe of the speaking and travel fees is a political "hit job."

Speaking to our friends at City & State Pa., Sims calls the probe "the cost of politics in a city like Philadelphia," where he's made more than a few enemies during his brief tenure.

"I can still be really angry about it. It feels very Machiavellian. This was done to hit me where I'm strongest - and I think I'm strongest in my ethics," he told the online news site.

A refresher for those of you tuning in late:

News of the alleged probe was first broken by The Philadelphia Gay News earlier this spring.

Sims, whose district includes Philadelphia's center city, is the Legislature's only openly gay lawmaker. He told the newspaper that the fees and travel were related to his experience coming out as an openly gay man - and not to his official duties as a lawmaker.

The newspaper obtained a copy of the report, filed by an anonymous complainant, alleging that Sims violated state ethics law. The commission's executive director, Robert P. Caruso, confirmed the complaint was being investigated, but declined to comment further.

Sims has maintained he's done nothing wrong. The Democrat has collected more than $42,000 in speaking fees since his election in 2012 and sought thousands of dollars in reimbursements for his travel costs.

Sims' global jaunts have included trips to Israel (with other state lawmakers) and a charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, according to published reports, as well as addressing Microsoft employees on LGBT issues at the company's corporate campus in Seattle.

In an email this morning to PennLive, Sims said he "started lecturing about LGBT issues and my own coming out story in 2009 and it was my primary source of income in 2010-2011 all before I even ran for office.

"In fact, I gave more paid lectures in the year before I became a legislator than I have in the five years since. This is public information that I've stated several times before," he wrote.

Sims took heat for initially failing to disclose the travel reimbursements and said he'd amended his financial disclosure forms to reflect those costs.

The trips became an issue during his 2016 re-election campaign, where he faced a three-way primary challenge that included former state Senate aide Ben Waxman.

Sims narrowly defeated Waxman, formerly spokesman to Sen. Vince Hughes, of Philadelphia, who's the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Speaking to City & State this week, Sims remained defiant:

"The only criminal part about all of this is the actual leaking of the contents of an ethics investigation," he said, adding later, "The person who leaked this filed (the complaint) so that they could then leak it."

The rest of the day's news starts now.

Hey! Anyone remember the budget? House and Senate Republicans got together on Wednesday to game out a plan to pass something by the June 30 deadline, City & State Pa. also reports.

The gun-toting Pa. doctor who was arrested outside the Trump hotel in Washington last month is back in custody until his trial, The Associated Press reports (via The Tribune-Review).

Members of Congress came together on the baseball diamond on Thursday, even as one of their own, wounded in that shooting earlier this week, underwent more surgery, The Post-Gazette reports.

A federal judge in Philly has found six protesters at last summer's Democratic National Convention guilty of trespassing, PhillyMag reports. One of them used bolt-cutters to cross a fence.

Philly native Gloria Allred says she and Bill Cosby have a lot in common, except for, y'know, those three felonies (via BillyPenn).

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:

For Philly-area attorneys, the Cosby trial is a career-making opportunity, NewsWorks/WHYY-FM reports.

The Morning Call muses on whether the Lehigh Valley has enough hotels.

State Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland, has endorsed fellow Republican Scott Wagner for governor in 2018 (The Force choke hold might have had something to do with it ...) h/t PoliticsPA.

Support is growing for the civil commitment of opioid abusers, Stateline.org reports.

It's all (GOP) hands on deck for that special election in Georgia, Politico reports.

Here's Roll Call on the spirit of bipartisanship prevailing on Capitol Hill (at least for now).

WolfWatch.

Gov. Tom Wolf heads to Montgomery County Community College in scenic Blue Bell, Pa., today for a 10:45 a.m. roundtable on "Elder Access to Justice."

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).

State Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-Bucks, holds a 6 p.m. reception at FontHill Castle in lovely Doylestown, Pa. tonight. Admission runs a mere $500 a head.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's something funky to get your Friday morning going.

Friday's Gratuitous Baseball Link.

Baltimore fell 5-2 to the ChiSox during a day game on Thursday. The O's have dropped to fourh in the AL East, they're now 6.5 games out of first place as their slump continues.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.