There was "substantial reason" to think Rep. David Schweikert may have received improper gifts and omitted key details from his required personal and campaign financial disclosures, a preliminary ethics investigation of him found.

The House Ethics Committee on Thursday released a two-page document submitted to the panel a year ago that hinted at a range of potential violations involving the five-term Arizona Republican.

The committee released the document because its investigation of Schweikert is pending more than a year after the Office of Congressional Ethics first screened him in a case that alleges misspending by his office and his campaign.

Schweikert's campaign dismissed the document's release.

"Given that today's report from OCE is merely a restatement of what has been reported previously, our position has not changed," said Chris Baker, a spokesman for the campaign. "We have welcomed the review being conducted by the House Committee and remain confident that the outcome of that review will be favorable for Congressman Schweikert."

While the information released Thursday isn't completely new, it offers another reminder of the troubles that have Democrats and Republicans watching the traditionally Republican-leaning seat more closely.

Democratic organizations seized on the new filing to paint Schweikert as corrupt.

"With each new development in these ongoing ethics investigations, we learn more about just how deep the roots of Congressman Schweikert’s corruption go," Brooke Goren, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said. "As Schweikert’s scandal drags on, hardworking Arizonans are losing confidence in this Congressman’s ability to get results for them on key issues like lowering the cost of health care and strengthening our economy."

"This new round of allegations from the House Ethics Committee further suggests that Schweikert is a corrupt politician," said Herschel Fink, executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party. "Arizonans are ready for new leadership."

In 2016, Schweikert won by 24 percentage points. Last year, he won by 10 percentage points. That's similar to the Republican slide from 2012, when Republican Mitt Romney won that district by 20 percentage points, to 2016, when President Donald Trump carried it by 10 points.

Schweikert ended June with $170,000 in cash, less than Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, who joined the race in late March. Schweikert also spent more money in the most recent quarter than he took in.

What does the case involve?

The ethics case seems to revolve around Schweikert and his former longtime chief of staff, Oliver Schwab. Schwab resigned his position in summer 2018, ending the investigation of him, but Schweikert is still dealing with the fallout of a probe that began in late 2017.

Schweikert has consistently downplayed the matter. Initially he described it as an accounting dispute. After OCE released its evidence against Schwab, a spokesman said Schweikert's trust in Schwab was "grossly misplaced."

The newly released referral sent by OCE to the Ethics Committee a year ago notes three distinct possible violations of House rules.

Specifically, OCE said there was substantial reason to think Schweikert may have:

Authorized payments to an employee not in line with the work they actually performed.

Received a loan or gift from a congressional employee

Omitted required information from annual personal financial disclosures and from his periodic campaign finance reports.

OCE recommended dismissing an allegation that Schweikert "improperly linked official activities to campaign or political support."

The document only spells out the kind of violations Schweikert may have committed. Neither the Ethics Committee nor OCE have publicly outlined the evidence in Schweikert's case.

Grijalva also under review

Schweikert is one of two Arizona House members facing a review by the Ethics Committee.

The House Ethics Committee is reviewing a $48,000 settlement in 2015 involving a former staff member who claimed Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., was frequently drunk and created a hostile workplace. That incident only became publicly known in 2017.

In December, the committee dismissed allegations that Grijalva misused the committee's funds with the settlement. Now, the committee is probing the underlying allegations against him.

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

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