The House Ethics Committee again decided against an investigation into Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s decision to pull a fire alarm ahead of a crucial vote last year.
The Republican-led panel opted to not heed a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, which unanimously agreed that the ethics committee should further investigate claims that the New York Democrat deliberately raised a false alarm in a bid to obstruct a vote on a stopgap-spending bill in September.
But Rep. Michael Guest, Mississippi Republican and ethics chairman, contended that Mr. Bowman has already been punished enough for his actions.
Mr. Bowman previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime in the District for pulling the fire alarm knowing there wasn’t a fire.
The lawmaker’s legal woes resulted in him paying a $1,000 fine, receiving three months of probation and the requirement to make a formal apology for his actions.
The House then censured the lawmaker in December, which Mr. Guest cited as the reason to not pursue an investigation.
“In light of the House’s intervening censure of Representative Bowman, the Committee determined that further review of Representative Bowman’s conduct would be moot,” Mr. Guest said.
The panel decided against launching an investigative subcommittee against Mr. Bowman in November after a majority of the committee members voted against the move.
Mr. Bowman was caught on tape ahead of a vote on then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s stopgap bill. At the time, the lawmaker said it was a mistake, and that he was rushing to make it to the vote.
The alarm forced the evacuation of a House Office building on Sept. 30 while Democratic lawmakers frantically scrambled to find more time to decide whether to support the short-term extension, which ultimately passed.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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