The lawmaker who confronted a woman praying outside Planned Parenthood May 2 was the subject of an investigation by Pennsylvania’s State Ethics Commission, after questions were raised in 2017 regarding speaking fees he received while in office.
The state’s ethics commission opened an investigation into state Rep. Brian Sims following a 2017 complaint that he had violated Pennsylvania’s Ethics Act. Sims is accused of accepting honoraria, including fees and free travel and accommodation, in violation of policies governing state legislators.
Sims has confirmed that he is under investigation, but says the complaint is a political “hit†and the “cost of politics in a city like Philadelphia.â€
The lawmaker, who has filmed himself offering money to social media users to identify and “dox†women and teenagers, said in June 2017 that: “This was done to hit me where I’m strongest – and I think I’m strongest in my ethics.â€
Media outlets in Pennsylvania first reported the investigation May 2017, following the leak of a letter from the ethics commission, in which executive director Robert Caruso said that a “full investigation†had been launched following a complaint against Sims.
The ethics commission has not reported whether the investigation has concluded.
Sims allegedly failed to report thousands of dollars worth of travel expenses, which he later reimbursed out of his official campaign funds, following a series of high-profile speaking engagements and trips overseas, made in connection with charitable fundraising.
A 2016 investigation by City&State Pennsylvania found that despite a rule prohibiting legislators from accepting honoraria, including speaking fees, Sims earned more than $40,000 from such activity following his election in 2012.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/brian-sims-doxing-state-rep-was-subject-of-ethics-investigation-96872
