House Ethics panel to investigate Rep. Trey Radel on cocaine bust

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Ethics Committee said it will formally investigate alleged misconduct by Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., who pleaded guilty to cocaine possession.

In a joint statement, Chairman K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and ranking Democratic member Linda Sanchez of California said the bipartisan committee voted last week to form an investigative subcommittee to probe Radel, Roll Call reported Monday.

Radel has been on leave since late November following the news that he was arrested in the District of Columbia for cocaine possession. He is undergoing treatment at a rehab clinic in Florida, where he says he is getting help for his addiction so he can return to work, despite calls for him to step down.

The investigative subcommittee "shall have jurisdiction to determine whether [Radel] violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to conduct forming the basis for criminal charges of possession of cocaine in the District of Columbia, to which Representative Radel [pleaded] guilty on November 20, 2013," the joint statement said.

Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., will lead the investigative subcommittee, and Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., will be its ranking member. The other subcommittee members will be Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Janice Hahn, D-Calif., all of whom sit on the full Ethics panel.