Fourteen-term incumbent and longtime TPMmuckraker character Alan Mollohan lost his congressional re-election bid last night.
Rep. Mollohan (D-WV) lost to a more conservative Democrat in a year where incumbents seem particularly vulnerable. Mollohan’s opponent repeatedly slammed him over a recently concluded ethics investigation into the congressman’s financial disclosures and earmarks. No charges were filed, and the case was recently closed.
The investigation was thought to center on problems with Mollohan’s financial disclosures, and non-profits he helped create which also benefited from his prodigious earmarking.
While it’s not clear exactly how much Mollohan’s ethics problems may have factored into his loss, he does have quite a past…
Mollohan first jumped on TPMmuckraker’s radar more than four years ago, when it came to light that the Justice Department was looking into his financial disclosures. Soon after, Mollohan stepped down from his post as ranking member on the House ethics committee.
As the investigation intensified, Mollohan ran up big legal bills and faced questions about overseeing the FBI’s budget while under FBI investigation.
Things were quiet for awhile, until last fall, when a leaked House ethics document seemed to have some bad news for Mollohan: He was still drawing the attention of federal investigators.
And then, this January, it was all over. Mollohan’s office announced that after nearly four years, the Justice Department ended its investigation of the Democrat. No charges were ever filed.
