OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Peter Roskam (PDF 20MB)
On June 13, 2013, the Office of Congressional Ethics transmitted a referral to the Committee on Ethics of the United States House of Representatives regarding Rep. Peter Roskam.
Nature of Review
In October 2011, Representative Peter Roskam and his wife visited Taiwan on an officially connected trip. According to the travel disclosure forms filed by Representative Roskam, the sponsor of the trip was the Chinese Culture University, an educational institution founded in 1962, located in Taipei, Taiwan. However, the trip appears to have been organized and conducted by the government of Taiwan, with little to no involvement by the University.
If Representative Peter Roskam accepted payment of travel expenses for an officially connected trip to Taiwan from an impermissible source, resulting in an impermissible gift, then he may have violated federal law and House rules.
OCE Recommendation
The Board of the OCE recommended that the Committee on Ethics further review the allegation, as there is substantial reason to believe that Representative Roskam accepted payment of travel expenses for an officially connected trip to Taiwan from an impermissible source, resulting in an impermissible gift, in violation of federal law and House rules.
Committee Conclusion
On September 11, 2013, the Committee on Ethics released a statement indicating it would continue to gather information necessary to complete its review. The Committee published the OCE report and findings and announced the allegations would be further reviewed pursuant to Committe Rule 18(a).
On November 15, 2013, the Committee released a report concluding there was insufficient evidence to find Representative Roskam’s trip was improper. The Committee noted the sponsor may have been improper, but presently-available evidence was inconclusive. Because additional information was outside the Committee’s reach, the Committee voted to close the matter.
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