Congressman Under Investigation for His Ties to Nonprofit Groups

Federal prosecutors are investigating the ties between nonprofit groups and Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, Democrat of West Virginia, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Mollohan has helped funnel approximately $178-million to nonprofit groups in his district through a controversial process often referred to as earmarking—or slipping provisions into spending bills to direct money to a lawmaker’s favorite cause.

The federal money that Mr. Mollohan has channeled to groups in his district has largely gone to nonprofit groups that are led by people who have contributed to Mr. Mollohan’s campaigns, family foundation, and political-action committee, the newspaper said. It said prosecutors wondered whether the donors were using the nonprofit groups to exert too much influence over Mr. Mollohan’s actions in Congress.

Mr. Mollohan has not been accused of wrongdoing by federal prosecutors, and he said he was proud of all the money he had directed to groups in his state.

See The Chronicle’s article on Mr. Mollohan’s use of earmarks, and our special report on nonprofit groups and earmarks. (A paid subscription is required to view these articles.)