The Kansas Board of Healing Arts is investigating U.S. Senate candidate Milton Wolf's display on a personal Facebook page of X-rays of dead and injured people accompanied by dark-humor commentary about the images.

Existence of the controversial Internet posts was revealed in February by The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Confirmation of an official state examination emerged in the final stretch before the Aug. 5 primary showdown involving Wolf and longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts.

An attorney with the Board of Healing Arts, which is responsible for licensing the state's health care providers and enforcing state law regarding professional misconduct, affirmed the existence of the inquiry in correspondence with The Capital-Journal.

Initial stages of board investigations are confidential, but this review was divulged in a letter requesting The Capital-Journal share with the state agency Wolf's images and remarks posted to Facebook. The newspaper had printed excerpts of Wolf's Facebook comments, but chose not to publish graphic images.

Dan Riley, disciplinary counselor for the board, indicated in a letter dated July 14 the request followed initiation of "a formal investigation to collect all the relevant information" regarding the Leawood radiologist's behavior.

The Capital-Journal reported Wolf matched gruesome X-rays with unflattering remarks on a Facebook page apparently taken down before announcing his Senate campaign. He contended the posts were intended to be humorous and educational.

Several X-rays depicting the grim reality of gun violence served as a Facebook backdrop to mocking one-liners by Wolf and his friends. Wolf wrote in one post the X-ray of a person killed by gunfire looked like a character in a "Terminator" film and was a reminder people "find beauty in different things."

When questioned by the newspaper, Wolf confirmed he was responsible for the Facebook entries and apologized.

It isn’t clear whether Wolf has cooperated with Board of Healing Arts investigators.

Wolf is conducting a tea-party inspired campaign to oust Roberts. The central argument by Wolf is the incumbent is too cozy with political insiders in Washington, D.C. Wolf's campaign emphasizes the senator lost touch with Kansans and appeared to be more of a Virginian than a Dodge City resident.

Wolf's campaign, which is in the midst of a "Save the Republic" bus tour that reached Lyons, Russell and Hays on Tuesday, released a statement blasting Roberts and accusing a Board of Healing Arts member of misconduct.

"Any investigation into these politically motivated charges will result in a finding that Dr. Wolf never violated patient privacy and that he remains a doctor in good standing," said campaign manager Ben Hartman.

Hartman said Wolf was aware of "numerous false allegations made by Senator Roberts' campaign and their allies that Dr. Wolf released private patient information."

He also asserted Board of Healing Arts appointee Anne Hodgdon "leveraged her position ... to launch a misleading personal attack" on Wolf. This abuse of power "rises to the level of official misconduct," said Hartman, who offered no evidence of the claim.

Hodgdon said in an interview she recused herself from any involvement in potential complaints about Wolf.

"I am not aware of any investigations concerning Dr. Wolf," she said.

Members of the Board of Healing Arts don't become involved in individual cases until after an initial investigation by agency staff and an assessment by a medical peer review committee that has no board members, said Kathleen Lippert, executive director of the Board of Healing Arts.

A disciplinary panel, which operates as a subcommittee of the board, takes up the review. This would be the first time any board member becomes aware of specific complaints. If the panel finds compelling evidence to support claims of a violation, a formal petition could be filed against a health care provider. That petition would be the subject of final action by the board.

"If a board member knows about a situation or has connection to a licensee or a situation, they would recuse themself," Lippert said. "There have been situations in the past where more than one board member recused himself."

Roberts' campaign has concentrated during much of the 2014 primary on Wolf's X-ray posts as evidence the Johnson County physician wasn’t equipped for work in the U.S. Senate. His re-election campaign renewed criticism of Wolf when asked for comment on the Board of Healing Arts inquiry.

"The fact that Milton Wolf is now under formal, legal investigation regarding his posting of private patient X-rays to Facebook casts a serious shadow on his candidacy for the U.S. Senate and his fitness to serve," said Leroy Towns, Roberts campaign spokesman.

Towns said questions about Wolf's conduct remained unanswered "and it is important to note he has used multiple excuses for his activities."

"That is not acceptable behavior for someone who wants to represent Kansas in one of the highest elected offices of the land," Towns said.

Political scientists at Washburn University in Topeka and Fort Hays State University said disclosure of the state investigation could influence undecided voters in final days of the U.S. Senate primary.

"It's a negative impact on Wolf," said Washburn's Bob Beatty. "It muddles up the message. It distracts from his narrative."

Beatty said Roberts, who is seeking a fourth term in the Senate, would consider the development a political gift in an unexpectedly difficult campaign in red-state Kansas.

FHSU professor Chapman Rackaway said Wolf would have preferred to avoid confirmation the Board of Healing Arts was looking into the Facebook matter. The issue is unusually sensitive for Wolf — a first-time campaigner — because he prominently displays a "Dr. Wolf" credential on campaign materials and speaks frequently about the need for health insurance reform, Rackaway said.

Rackaway, who was interviewed before the accusation, correctly predicted the Wolf campaign would accuse Roberts' political allies for engaging a character attack.

Tomari Quinn, editor of The Capital-Journal, said the newspaper would study the state agency's request for access to the X-ray images and make a decision in consultation with legal counsel.