SFGate - Khanna Supporters File House Ethics Complaint over Honda Staff Emails

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By Carla Marinucci

Supporters of Silicon Valley House Democratic candidate Ro Khanna have filed a complaint to the House Ethics office, asking for an investigation of whether 7-term Rep. Mike Honda "impermissibly used House of Representatives resources and his official position to influence his re-election campaign."

Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves and Cupertino Vice-Mayor Rod Sinks starred at a press conference Friday in which they announced they've submitted a formal complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics asking for an immediate investigation of emails from the Democratic Congressman's staff, which suggest they have been mixing 17th Congressional district House and campaign work. In one case, the two pointed out, it appears Honda's staff may have targeted potential donors or solicited donations through invitations to an official State Department event.

Khanna, who was also present Friday at the press conference, said the story showed that Honda is "more focused on using his office to raise money and secure his re-election than in getting things done for the people of his district. Voters in the 17th district deserve an immediate investigation so they know whether Congressman Honda has broken ethics rules before casting their ballots."

Vivek Kembaiyan, communications director for Honda's reelection campaign, said in a statement that Honda "welcomes any investigation" and is "disappointed" in staffers who "should have taken more care to prevent the appearance of coordination."

The ethics complaint comes in the wake of a story this week based on an investigation by the San Jose Metro, and its online offshoot San Jose Inside.

House candidate Ro Khanna holds press conference Friday on Honda complaint
The Silicon Valley weekly published e-mails suggesting that some Honda staffers have done campaign work on their congressional time, including setting up a home Netflix account and Apple TV for the Congressman. But the Metro story also zeroed in on emails regarding an Asian-American State Department roundtable, in which staffers appeared to be targeting potential donors to Honda as invitees.

Honda Congressional spokesman Ken Scudder said in an email today that the sole purpose of the Asian roundtable "was to allow local business, political, non-profit and community leaders the opportunity to talk with an expert in US-South Asian relations, ask questions, and offer their opinions on how those relations could be strengthened."

Kembaiyan's statement said that "Congressman Honda expects his staff to adhere to the highest ethical standards. In this instance, while not a violation of House Rules, he believes staff should have taken more care to prevent the appearance of coordination."

"The Congressman is disappointed and has reiterated his policy and expectations to his staff. The Congressman welcomes any investigation and believes they would come to the same conclusion," he said.

But he also characterized the press conference as a "a fake news event" and a "desperate" campaign strategy.

Honda and Khanna are engaged in a contentious Democrat vs. Democrat general election battle in the 17th Congressional District. They will meet Oct. 6 for their first -- and only -- debate at San Jose State University. Expect this to be one of the issues raised -- and stay tuned for more developments.

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