"While I do believe I would be exonerated of any wrongdoing, I also did not want to put my staff through the rigors of an Ethics Committee investigation and believed it was best for them to have a head start on new employment rather than being caught up in an inquiry. And since I have chosen to resign, the inquiry will not become a burden to taxpayers and committee staff," Meehan, a former member of the ethics panel, said in a statement. "I will pay $39,000.00 to the U.S. Treasury to reimburse for the severance payment that was made from my office account."