As the race for Marco Rubio’s senate seat lures more politicians to run, the rivalry between two Democrats vying for the spot, congressional representatives Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson, has attracted national headlines.
Aside from political differences, the crux of this rivalry is Grayson’s operation of an offshore hedge fund. This week, the Office of Congressional Ethics found there is "substantial reason to believe" he may have violated House rules, alleging the Orlando Democrat operated a hedge fund that improperly used his name, failed to disclose required information from annual financial disclosure statements and continued to profit from legal proceedings in which the government had a direct interest.
The House Committee on Ethics says it will look further into the matter, but notably did not launch an investigative subcommittee. Grayson told reporters in a conference call that OCE’s investigation into him was a political witch hunt by Murphy and his “establishment allies” to distract Florida voters”. Grayson also alleged the Jupiter Democrat collaborated with OCE regarding confidential information about the investigation. Murphy has not responded to this specific charge, but his campaign did call the report on Grayson “damning,” according to The News Service of Florida.
Whatever the truth may be, it’s safe to say Florida voters will have to wait a while before the House Committee on Ethics makes a decision, but hopefully, it’s resolved before the August primaries.