Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff Presses Republican Opponent Representative Mike Collins On House Ethics Probe: “This Is Not Going Away”

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) on Tuesday publicly demanded that his Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Mike Collins, cooperate with an active U.S. House Ethics investigation into an alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars.

And today, Ossoff’s reelection campaign left a social media message for his opponent saying: “This is not going away”:

The dispute centers on a report by the Office of Congressional Conduct (OCC), which recently referred a case against Collins to the House Committee on Ethics. The OCC explicitly noted that Collins refused to cooperate with its preliminary review, prompting the nonpartisan watchdog to recommend that the House Ethics Committee issue subpoenas to compel his compliance.

On Tuesday, Senator Ossoff, who is fighting Collins in order to hold his seat in the U.S. Senate, held a virtual press conference over the investigation.

“I am demanding that Congressman Mike Collins cooperate with this federal investigation into the illegal misuse of tax dollars”, said Ossoff, adding that Collins should “commit to testifying in this matter”.

Ossoff then went on to say that Collins must explain to Georgia voters and the press, “why he has refused to answer questions” and “refused to testify”.

Ossoff went on to say Collins has “stonewalled” the investigation, which is looking into whether or not the Collins congressional office misspent taxpayer funds.

The Collins campaign immediately rejected the accusations made by the Senator in the video, framing the press conference as a political stunt.

The high-stakes political clash comes as both men campaign for Georgia’s competitive U.S. Senate seat ahead of the November election. Ossoff won the seat in 2020 and Democrats are hoping he’ll retain it, as it is a crucial seat in their effort to re-take control of the Upper Chamber of Congress.

Throughout the campaign cycle, Senator Ossoff has consistently been on offense against Rep. Collins, a close ally of President Donald Trump. Polls have shown Ossoff maintaining a modest but steady lead over Collins, whose campaign has also been besieged by a scandal over a family member’s alleged ties to White nationalist ideology.

In his press conference video, Senator Ossoff committed to demanding Collins testify and said his campaign will press the issue every day until he does.