SCOOP: Ethics panel probes Rep. Spartz over staff abuse claims

The Indiana Republican has drastically cut staff pay and communicated ‘with complete and total rage,’ according to complaints.

The House Ethics Committee has made preliminary inquiries into Rep. Victoria Spartz’s treatment of staff in response to multiple complaints filed about the Indiana Republican’s alleged “abuse,” “general toxicity,” and “rage,” according to a current aide and a former aide who made complaints and have been contacted by investigators in recent weeks.

The aides, who were granted anonymity due to their fear of retribution by Spartz, said their complaints were filed with panel investigators before Spartz won her primary race last month. The investigators told them the Ethics Committee would not launch a formal investigation before then given the potential appearance of meddling in the election, the aides said.

Spartz’s turbulent behavior has continued since, the two people said. In the last few weeks, she has imposed pay cuts reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars for some staffers, which came amid her ongoing complaints about her staff’s performance. In April, Spartz sent a note to staffers forbidding them to talk to POLITICO reporters who were pursuing tips about her office.

“If you feel strongly to badmouth me I am ok with it … but please do not use some made up speculations that could put someone’s life in danger … it’s unethical and will not serve you well in the future,” she wrote in the text, shared by a second former staffer.

On Tuesday, her chief of staff, Patrick Slowinski, resigned after being in the job for less than a month, according to a person familiar with the matter. He declined to comment.

Reached by text about the ethics inquiry, Spartz said she was “not sure what you are talking about.”