House Democrat hit with ethics complaint over social media use
Gabe Kaminsky
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EXCLUSIVE — A freshman House Democrat may have violated federal law due to his “improper” Twitter usage, according to a right-leaning ethics watchdog group.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust is demanding that the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent and nonpartisan body that reviews misconduct allegations against lawmakers, “immediately investigate” if Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL) “has abused official resources for political purposes” by using the Twitter account for his campaign to post content from his congressional office and the House floor, according to a Wednesday ethics complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner.
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“The legal violations related to Rep. Sorensen’s case are obvious and nothing can excuse them,” FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold said. “These resources are not given to members to campaign for their own personal benefit, and it is concerning anytime tax-payer funded resources are abused.”
Sorensen, a former weatherman who was elected in 2022, links on his campaign Twitter account to his official social media account. The congressman’s campaign account, as of this writing, also has a pinned tweet linking to “all of his official accounts” for social media, the watchdog noted in its complaint.
The complaint cites several Twitter posts from Sorensen’s campaign account that purportedly use official resources, including one from May 25 that shows the House floor with the caption, “It’s not even 11 o’clock on Thursday morning and every Republican left the House and went home.”
https://twitter.com/ERICSORENSEN/status/1661748583161561100
FACT also included in its complaint an April 27 tweet from the same account that read, “Know what I love about the science committee? We use data and value to come to conclusions, not partisan politics.”
https://twitter.com/ERICSORENSEN/status/1651677343214104587
Still, federal rules hold that “appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law,” meaning members are not allowed to use any official resources for political or campaign purposes.
In June, FACT filed a complaint against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) that alleged the congressman skirted the law by using his campaign Twitter account to post a video of a congressional hearing in which he criticized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Swalwell’s tweet has been deleted, the Washington Examiner reported.
Sorensen’s office did not return a request for comment.
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“The House ethics rules are in place to protect time, resources, and the integrity of elected officials,” Arnold added. “The House ethics manual specifically addresses this type of behavior and the negative effect it has in furthering the public perception that Members are using their office for personal political gain. Thus, we encourage the OCE to act swiftly.”
The OCE declined a request for comment. Its board ultimately decides whether to launch an investigation following complaints.