Chabot’s office apologizes for apparently breaking House rules in campaign e-mail

A staffer working for Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) apparently broke House rules Friday, forwarding a request that congressional staffers send interns to the Republican National Committee (RNC) to make campaign-related phone calls.

{mosads}The episode started when an aide at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sent an e-mail Friday to congressional staffers. The e-mail asked the GOP aides to send interns to the RNC to make phone calls for Jim Oberweis (R), who is running for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill.) vacated congressional seat in a special election Saturday.

“If you have interns sitting around today, please send them over to the RNC…to phone bank for Oberweis,” the e-mail states.

Matthew Lillibridge, a staff assistant in Chabot’s office, forwarded the e-mail to aides in other congressional offices, apparently violating House rules against using House resources for campaign purposes. Lillibridge used his House e-mail address, forwarding the e-mail to other addresses on the House e-mail server.

“It raises questions as to what other activities are taking place in Congressman Steve Chabot’s office on the taxpayer’s dime,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesman Doug Thornell told The Hill. Democrats are targeting Chabot's seat this cycle.

Chabot spokesman George Cecala apologized for the incident.

“It’s not our office policy to conduct business this way…We apologize if there was an appearance of impropriety, which was certainly not our office’s intent. We apologize to the folks back home. We work hard to make sure that our staff is fully informed on the proper procedures,” Cecala said.

Cecala added that Chabot's office had been “quick to notify the ethics committee,” and that Lillibridge “is a young assistant who acted before he thought.” Lillibridge is 23 years old.

Defending the initial e-mail, NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley said that “congressional employees and interns are allowed to volunteer their time on campaigns…”

House rules state that “Official resources of the House must, as a general rule, be used for the performance of official business of the House, and hence those resources may not be used for campaign or political purposes.”

The NRCC staffer who sent the initial e-mail, when contacted by The Hill for comment, said he did not know of any rules prohibiting his request for interns. According to the NRCC, the staffer is a low-level employee.

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), a member of the House ethics committee, told The Hill the NRCC staffer’s request for interns “didn’t smell right.”

“I’m not sure if it’s illegal, but it sure sounds like it is,” Green said, noting that he never felt comfortable asking his congressional employees to do campaign work.