AP: Ethics clears lawmaker for accepting jet trip from fiance

The House ethics committee told Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) she did nothing wrong by accepting transportation on a corporate jet owned by
 her fiancé, according to a report in the Associated Press.

The ethics panel did not launch a formal investigation of Pingree’s 
travel. Instead, it simply reviewed the matter and informed Pingree she 
had done nothing wrong in a letter signed by Reps. Zoe Lofgren
 (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the chair and the ranking member of 
the panel, respectively. 

{mosads}The letter said transportation qualifies as a 
gift, but members may accept gifts from family members including 
fiancés, the AP report said.



Questions about Pingree’s travel arose after a video surfaced of 
Pingree leaving a Dassault Falcon owned by Wall Street financier S. 
Donald Sussman. She told the Portland Press Herald that they had kept
 their engagement under wraps.



When Pingree served as the president of Common Cause, a government
 watchdog, before becoming a member of Congress, she had criticized the 
use of corporate jets by lawmakers.