In a possible congressional ethics violation, California Democratic
Rep. Lois Capps rented a room in her personal home to one of her
congressional staffers for years and did not report the income to the
IRS — during that time, or for more than a decade — until 2012. Capps
also withheld that information from the proper congressional authorities
for five years — from 2001 until early 2006.
The staffer in question was Jeremy Tittle, a “case worker” in Capps’ district office from late 2000 until late 2004. According to Federal Election Commission records, Tittle was also a staffer for Capps’ political campaigns from as early as 2001 to as late as 2004.
Tittle, according to a letter that Capps personal accountant David Powdrell sent to the Legislative Resource Center on Capitol Hill on Feb. 13, 2006, rented the “studio portion of her [Capps'] personal residence in Santa Barbara, California” for several years. Tittle lived in Capps’ home from 2001 to 2005.
During the majority of the time during which Tittle paid Capps rent to live in her home, he was a staffer for both her campaign and her congressional office.
Capps’ failure to tell Congress about the arrangement may be a potential congressional ethics violation — because she had an unreported financial and transactional relationship with a staffer for several years. On its first page, the House Ethics manual says “members, officers and employees of the House should … not in any way use their office for private gain.”
According to the Powdrell letter, Tittle paid the congresswoman $41,480 from 2001 to 2005. Capps campaign spokesman Jeffrey Millman conceded in a phone interview with TheDC that the February 2006 letter from Powdrell was the first time Capps told Congress about the financial relationship she had with her staffer. He also said the room was rented at “market rate.”
“We’re willing to concede that that [letter] was the first time [Capps reported to congressional officials that she had staffer living in her home paying her rent],” Millman said.
The staffer in question was Jeremy Tittle, a “case worker” in Capps’ district office from late 2000 until late 2004. According to Federal Election Commission records, Tittle was also a staffer for Capps’ political campaigns from as early as 2001 to as late as 2004.
Tittle, according to a letter that Capps personal accountant David Powdrell sent to the Legislative Resource Center on Capitol Hill on Feb. 13, 2006, rented the “studio portion of her [Capps'] personal residence in Santa Barbara, California” for several years. Tittle lived in Capps’ home from 2001 to 2005.
During the majority of the time during which Tittle paid Capps rent to live in her home, he was a staffer for both her campaign and her congressional office.
Capps’ failure to tell Congress about the arrangement may be a potential congressional ethics violation — because she had an unreported financial and transactional relationship with a staffer for several years. On its first page, the House Ethics manual says “members, officers and employees of the House should … not in any way use their office for private gain.”
According to the Powdrell letter, Tittle paid the congresswoman $41,480 from 2001 to 2005. Capps campaign spokesman Jeffrey Millman conceded in a phone interview with TheDC that the February 2006 letter from Powdrell was the first time Capps told Congress about the financial relationship she had with her staffer. He also said the room was rented at “market rate.”
“We’re willing to concede that that [letter] was the first time [Capps reported to congressional officials that she had staffer living in her home paying her rent],” Millman said.
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