The head Georgia’s state ethics commission said she was threatened and pressured by Gov. Nathan Deal’s (R) office in 2012 to “make the complaints” against the governor “go away,” according to a memo obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The complaints included claims Deal improperly paid for use of a private aircraft for campaign travel and questioned his use of campaign funds to pay legal fees during his 2010 campaign.”

The House Ethics Committee launched a review of potential misconduct by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) and his longtime employment of a Chicago lobbyist in his congressional office, USA Today reports.

“An ethics watchdog filed a formal request Wednesday for an investigation of National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (OR), citing his team’s use of phony websites,” the Huffington Post reports.

“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — citing numerous reports of 18 GOP webpages that masqueraded as sites belonging to Democrats — is asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether or not Walden broke federal law or House rules by tricking Democratic supporters into donating to the GOP.”

Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) says he is “distressed by the innuendo” that there is a conflict between his personal financial interests and his official actions in Washington so he took the unusual step of asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate him, USA Today reports.

Said Petri: “To end any questions, I am requesting that the committee formally review the matter and report back.”

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) “is under review by the Ethics Committee stemming from her victory in an internal party leadership race to become chairman of the House Republican conference,” The Hill reports.

Former spokesman Todd Winer “made a complaint to the OCE after leaving her office early last year… In his complaint, the sources say, he alleges that the now-fourth-ranking Republican in the House misused funds during her battle with Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for the leadership post following the 2012 elections.”

New York Times: “The Old Dominion — a commonwealth, as people here are quick to point out, not a state — has for centuries fancied itself a haven of good government led by public-spirited citizens dating to Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Strict ethics laws simply were not needed, the thinking went, because bribery — at least not in the most overt sense — did not happen within the chiseled walls of what is still called ‘Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol’ in Richmond.”

“This founding myth has been punctured in recent years amid lower-grade scandals, and many Virginians believe the notion has been shattered by a 43-page legal document that reads like the raw materials for the next great political novel.”

“A law designed to prevent conflicts of interest and shed light on lawmakers who negotiate for post-Capitol Hill work while still in office has failed, worn thin by a series of administrative rulings and narrow interpretations,” National Journal reports.

“The result is that lawmakers themselves now determine when a potential conflict exists and when disclosures should be released publicly. Moreover, because the law has yielded almost none of the public information it was designed to provide, it remains largely unknown whom lawmakers negotiate with–and whether their official duties present any conflicts with those employers.”

The House Ethics Committee will launch a formal investigation into alleged misconduct by Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL), Roll Call reports.

“Radel has been on leave since late last month, when news broke that he had been arrested in the District of Columbia for cocaine possession. He is now checked into a rehab clinic in Florida, where he says he is getting help for his addiction issues that will enable him to get back to work — despite the many calls in and out of his home state for him to step down.”