Former Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Virginia Republican, told The Federalist on Thursday that he would be dropping his name from the host lineup of a fundraiser for Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney.
In a statement to The Federalist, Riggleman, who was hired as an official adviser last summer by the Jan. 6 Committee, which is vice-chaired by Cheney, denied any contributions to Cheney’s re-election bid.
“I have not contributed to Rep. Cheney’s campaign nor will I,” Riggleman said. “Rep. Cheney was unaware that I was a member of this host committee and she never asked me to be part of the committee either. I’m removing myself from the invitation to avoid the possibility of misleading stories like this one.”
Such a donation would be a violation of federal law, which expressly prohibits employees from making any campaign contributions to their employer. Violators may face fines and up to three years in prison.
It is unclear whether Riggleman remains an official adviser to the partisan probe. Beyond House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking the “unprecedented” step of barring Republican appointments to the panel, undermining its legitimacy under chamber rules, the committee has refused to submit monthly staff reports as required by the Congressional Handbook, which detail personnel, expenses, and compensation.
“Monthly reports for all Committees are supposed to be posted on the Committee on House Administration’s website to ensure transparency and provide accountability for Committee investigation and use of official resources,” wrote Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., in a letter to House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren earlier this month demanding that she compel the Jan. 6 probe to comply with the handbook. Lofgren, who herself sits on the Jan. 6 Committee, dismissed the letter, and the partisan witch hunt continues to operate in secret just as the Democrats’ first Trump impeachment.
“Reviewing these monthly reports and tracking committee spending is an essential part of transparency and it is concerning that such information has been kept from the American people,” Banks and Davis added.
Cheney’s office did not respond to The Federalist’s inquiries Thursday morning.
