Ethics report: Hagedorn 'knew or should have known' about improper spending

First District Rep. Jim Hagedorn is facing further scrutiny following the release of a new report from the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The 23-page report was released last week in response to allegations that Hagedorn’s congressional office spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on printing companies connected to members of his staff.

According to the report, investigators "uncovered evidence that shows Rep. Hagedorn knew or should have known that there were irregularities in his franked mail practices, including unusually high spending, above fair market prices, and potential financial conflicts of interest.”

The report found that the companies linked to members of Hagedorn’s staff were paid at least $453,000 between 2019 and 2020. It also states that Hagedorn, now in his second term, “failed to conduct reasonable oversight of the large amounts of official funds being spent with these companies.”

Hagedorn has repeatedly denied personal wrongdoing, saying his former chief of staff Peter Su was responsible for awarding the contracts. Su was fired in June 2020 after Hagedorn says he learned of the spending.

"He self-reported the matter to the Ethics Committee and will continue to work with it to bring it to a conclusion,” said Elliot Berke, an attorney representing Hagedorn. “Moreover, he had no knowledge of the underlying issues and has acted in good faith throughout.”

Hagedorn’s case was referred to the House Ethics Committee by a 6-0 vote from the OCE Board, which operates independently from the committee.

The report also found “substantial reason” that Hagedorn may have violated federal election law by not paying rent for a campaign office supplied to him by a political donor. The allegation was first reported by POLITICO.

“…the OCE found extensive evidence that Rep. Hagedorn not only paid significantly below market value for the campaign office space, but that he also knowingly made materially false statements to the public about his use of that office space when confronted with the allegations,” the report says.

The OCE says it sought cooperation from Hagedorn, along with other staffers, but they either refused to cooperate or made intentionally false statements.

The Ethics Committee is now in the process of reviewing the findings from the OCE. The OCE board recommends that the committee issue subpoenas to Hagedorn and others involved in the investigation.

The committee, however, notes that “the mere fact of conducting further review … does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.”

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo: Hagedorn in 2018 / Med City Beat