Cong. Brown on Ethics probe: "I am clean"

“I am clean.”

Among the few answers Congresswoman Corrine Brown was willing to give regarding the House Ethics Committee forming a panel to investigate allegations of fraud, abuse of office, and more- she told supporters there's nothing to worry about.

“There is a process in place, and I’m comfortable with the House. They’ve got a procedure, and that’s fine,” she says.

We learned this week that the Investigative Subcommittee was formed to look in to Brown's ties to outside organizations, use of campaign funds and more. While there were no further details offered about the specific nature of the allegations, this comes less than a month after the head of an organization Brown had promoted as a charity- One Door for Education- pled guilty to using donations instead for personal expenses.

Brown says her constituents have a right to hear her answer to these claims, but now is not the time.

“They [my lawyers] tell me to ‘zip it until we tell you’, and they’re doing their due diligence,” she says.

The Department of Justice has asked the House panel to defer action on their investigation, but wouldn’t comment on why they’re making the request. Brown says DOJ involvement doesn’t make her any more or less concerned about what’s happening.

“It’s scary anytime anybody comes and asks you questions, but the point is, if you know the answers to the questions and you have a team of attorneys that’s working on it, you let them handle it,” she says.

Brown spoke Friday following an appearance in federal court to fight over her newly re-drawn Congressional district. There's been no ruling from that at this time.