The House Ethics Committee will review a complaint against U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Jackson Republican running for U.S. Senate.
Committee Chair Michael Guest, a Mississippi Republican, and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier, a California Democrat, issued a statement Friday announcing the development. It states that the Office of Congressional Conduct transmitted a matter on Oct. 7 about Collins.
“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” reads the standardized statement from the Committee leadership.
The same day, the committee announced a separate review of allegations involving Brandon Phillips, Collins’ Chief of Staff.
In both instances, the committee said a course of action will be announced Jan. 5. That could involve an investigation or a dismissal of the complaint.
Collins’ Office brushed off the news.
“This bogus referral is nothing but a desperate and baseless attack by Rep. Collins’ political opponents,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to the Ethics Committee completing its work and this frivolous complaint being dismissed. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
But the Democratic Party of Georgia this week criticized Collins for releasing an artificial intelligence-generated deepfake of U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent Collins aims to unseat, as covered by Atlanta News First.
The video shows Ossoff enthusiastically bragging about voting to keep the government shut down and saying he only ever saw a farm on Instagram, things the Democrat never said. It’s unclear whether such deepfakes violate any laws, but the fabricated clip drew criticisms of Collins’ campaign from the Right and Left for deceptiveness.
Collins is one of eight Republicans currently seeking to challenge Ossoff. As of the end of September, Collins’ campaign had more than $2.3 million in cash on hand, compared to the $3.9 million in the bank for U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a Saint Simons Republican.
