WASHINGTON Congressional ethics investigators concluded in a report released Wednesday that Representative Vern Buchanan, a Florida lawmaker who leads House Republican fund-raising operations nationwide, appeared to have tried to illegally influence the testimony of an ex-business partner regarding allegations of campaign finance violations in his own race.
The ethics investigators found that Mr. Buchanan, one of the richest members of Congress, tried to get his ex-partner to sign a legal affidavit that he knew to be false before he would agree to pay the partner a $2.9 million settlement in a business dispute. The affidavit wrongly asserted that Mr. Buchanan knew nothing of illegal contributions made to his campaign in 2006, the investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics found.
The board overseeing the Office of Congressional Ethics, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing by House members, found in the newly released report that there was substantial reason to believe that Mr. Buchanan violated federal law and Congressional rules by attempting to influence the testimony of a witness in a federal inquiry.
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Mr. Buchanan is also facing ongoing investigations by the F.B.I. and the I.R.S. involving allegations of financial wrongdoing in his private business dealings and his campaign finances.
