House panel clears King in ethics probe

But lawmakers admonish Grand Junction Republican over reimbursements

By Charles Ashby
Friday, February 12, 2010

A House Ethics Committee voted unanimously today that Rep. Steve King had not intended to “double-dip” from his campaign account and state mileage reimbursements for the same expenses.

But the five-member panel said the Grand Junction Republican didn’t handle the situation well when he reimbursed himself for travel expenses at the same time he claimed mileage reimbursements from the state. And it intends to send King a letter saying so.

The committee, made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, said King shouldn’t have used money from his campaign to pay for gas and a rental car while he waited for reimbursements from the state for the same expense.

The panel said that because King paid the money back into his campaign account, he showed he had no intent to double dip.