Watchdog group says three House Democrats broke ethics rules by linking member, campaign sites

A government accountability watchdog group has filed a complaint against three House Democrats, accusing them of having violated ethics rules by linking their official congressional websites to their political campaign sites.

The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust, or FACT, filed complaints Friday against Reps. Tom O'Halleran, of Arizona; Susan Wild, of Pennsylvania, and Kurt Schrader, of Oregon.

The conservative-leaning group says the lawmakers are linking campaign sites to such official congressional websites such as their member sites and committee sites, which is a violation of House ethics rules.

"This is a straightforward violation," says FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold. "This rule in particular is very specific and clearly forbids members from linking campaign websites and official House websites. While the rule is simple, it has the important purpose of protecting taxpayer funds and guarding against the common perception that a member of Congress’ first priority is running for reelection."

Wild and Schrader were also accused of linking their official accounts to their re-election campaigns. According to the Washington Free Beacon, 

The Free Beacon reported that O'Halleran's campaign defended its use of tying the candidate's official tax-funded accounts to his campaign, saying they used third-party sites and not the official accounts.