ALABAMA (WHNT) — The Alabama Republican Party’s Ethics committee has dismissed an ethics complaint filed against former longtime Huntsville area Congressman Mo Brooks.
The complaint was originally submitted by Alabama Board of Education member Dr. Wayne Reynolds, who took issue with remarks Brooks made during a May 17 radio interview with Montgomery-based WACV. The party’s ethics committee held a meeting Sunday in Birmingham to hear the complaint.
It was a closed-door meeting. And, Reynolds said those present were directed to not discuss what happened during the meeting once it was over.
Brooks told News 19 Monday the committee had dismissed the complaint. He said after the complaint was filed that he had not violated any GOP ethics standard and that he looked forward to rebutting the claims against him.
The committee’s chairman said in an email that the dismissal was a majority decision of the committee
In WACV’s online recording of the interview, Brooks addresses a number of ‘China-related’ concerns, including the United States trade imbalance with China, China’s labor practices and China’s efforts to influence U.S. elections.
He said that these issues have directly impacted his own campaigns.
“Communist China is very much aware of my views,” Brooks said, “and so they did everything they could to assist the election of somebody else to the United States Senate in 2022.”
Brooks previously told News 19 that his comments on several China-related issues, including closing Confucius Institutes, advocating for fair trade laws, building up the U.S. military to stop Chinese expansion and supporting Taiwan, “unquestionably caught their eye.”
Reynolds, in his original complaint, cited an article about the interview posted by 1819.com, and wrote, “I supported and voted for Katie Britt. I nor anyone I know of were influenced by the Communist Party or the Chinese Government. Senator Britt won because the Republicans of Alabama preferred her over Mo Brooks.”
Brooks said his comments were not directed specifically towards Britt.
“‘Somebody else’ in my comment referred to anyone not named Mo Brooks,” he said.
Reynolds said Monday he could not comment on the proceedings. He said that both before and after the hearing his position was that he would abide by the committee’s decision and has faith in the Alabama Republican Party’s process.
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