NEW REPORT: Collins Campaign Commits “Ethics No-No,” Copied Language from Taxpayer-Funded Website

Collins again in ethical hot water after using official House language for campaign materials, a potential “violation of House Ethics rules”

ATLANTA — A new report from Roll Call outlines Congressman Doug Collins’ latest “ethics no-no” after he was caught taking materials from his taxpayer-funded congressional website and using them for his Senate campaign, “seemingly a violation of House Ethics rules.”

Collins “directly copied” language from his official congressional website on the issue of reproductive choice — “a crucial part of his Senate campaign” — and used it for his campaign’s website as well, setting up yet another ethical red flag for Collins.

Already, Collins and his campaign have faced multiple ethics complaints from members of both parties over repeated misuse footage of House floor proceedings by featuring it in his campaign materials attacking his opponent Senator Kelly Loeffler, who has faced her own ethical lapses.

“Once again, Congressman Doug Collins is abusing the public trust and potentially violating House Ethics rules to prop up his flailing campaign,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “It’s shameful that on an issue he claims to care so much about, Collins would apparently copy materials from a taxpayer-funded website for his Senate campaign. This latest ethical lapse is just another sign of how out-of-touch Collins has become voters back in Georgia.”

Read more about Collins’ potential House Ethics rules violation:

Roll Call: Ethics no-no: Doug Collins Senate campaign takes from official page

• Rep. Doug Collins, who is in a tightly contested race for a Georgia Senate seat against Sen. Kelly Loeffler, used exact language describing his anti-abortion position from his official House website for use on his campaign page, seemingly a violation of House Ethics rules.

• Members are allowed to use materials originally prepared by the official office for campaigning purposes if those materials have been “exhausted,” but because Collins’ stance on abortion is still laid out on his official House website, it would be prohibited from being directly copied for his Senate campaign.

• The House Ethics Committee notes that a campaign cannot reproduce a member’s stance on an issue that is taken verbatim from the official House website if it still appears on the official website:

• “On the other hand, when a congressional office posts a statement setting out the Member’s views on the major issues on its official website, the Member’s campaign is not free to reproduce that statement so long as it remains on the official website. So long as a statement of that nature remains posted on the official site, its official use is not exhausted.”

• Collins is a devout baptist pastor. His opposition to abortion is a crucial part of his Senate campaign — it’s second on his list of issues behind supporting President Donald Trump.

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