Candidate who triggered ethics investigation says Palazzo should resign from Congress

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - The man who sparked an ethics investigation of Congressman Steve Palazzo is calling on Palazzo to resign immediately. Republican Carl Boyanton also announced Friday that he will again run to represent Mississippi’s 4th District in Congress.

“After reading the 47-page report and the corresponding evidence, I find it hard to believe he can survive the scrutiny. The evidence is very compelling,” Boyanton said. “I would advise him to not put the 4th district and Mississippi through this process and to resign immediately.”

The report Boyanton is referring to was released earlier this week by the Office of Congressional Ethics. It found Palazzo may have used campaign funds for personal expenses and courted favors for his brother. The Ethics Committee is recommending further review of Palazzo’s spending and actions, and issuing subpoenas to get more answers.

Boyanton, who lost to Palazzo in the 2020 GOP primary, sent a complaint to the Ethics Committee in January of that year alleging Palazzo was spending campaign money on himself.

He told WLOX News, “I don’t want to see him go to jail. I hate to have it ruin somebody’s career or life, but being in Congress should be an honor, not a career. And you shouldn’t enrich yourself. This is the people’s money, and you should be doing the people’s work.”

Congressman Palazzo reiterated his intentions to remain in Congress and seek re-election in 2022, saying in a statement, “I look forward to presenting the facts to the Ethics Committee and clearing up these false allegations made by desperate political opponents who have no credibility and who failed to get over 9% of the vote in past campaigns.”

Palazzo’s attorney and former congressman Gregg Harper told WLOX News he’s preparing to prove his client did nothing wrong. He also said Palazzo would be prepared to answer questions from the committee if asked.

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