From a press release:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today issued the following statement regarding Rep. Trey Radel’s (R-FL) resignation from Congress. Rep. Radel is a first-term Member of Congress arrested for cocaine possession last November.
CREW filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) against Radel in November 2013, asserting his conduct reflects discreditably upon the House, and the House Ethics Committee had opened an investigation.
“Rep. Radel’s resignation is welcome, though overdue. The timing, however, is certainly suspicious. Why now? It’s not as if the Republican leadership just learned of the cocaine bust over the weekend. It seems possible his resignation is intended to stymie the ethics investigation that might have elicited damaging information about other members of Congress and congressional staff.
"As CREW asked before, who introduced the first-term lawmaker — who lived in Washington less than 10 months — to his drug dealer? Further, we know Rep. Radel shared his cocaine with others. Who, exactly? Given his short tenure in D.C., Rep. Radel most likely spent his free time with other members of Congress and Hill staff. The congressman’s resignation should in no way derail the ethics investigation stemming from this incident,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said.
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