Rep. Mike Kelly Reprimanded By House Ethics Panel

July 27, 2025 7:27 am

WASHINGTON (AP) The House Ethics Committee issued a formal reproval Friday of Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., following a yearslong investigation into an insider-trading allegation over his wife’s purchase of stock in a steel company in his Butler-area congressional district.  The panel also said Kelly and his wife, Victoria Kelly, should divest of any stock in the company, Cleveland-Cliffs, before the congressman takes any further official actions related to it.  While the committee said it “did not find evidence” that Kelly “knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information,” its report also said it “did not receive full cooperation from Mrs. Kelly and was therefore unable to determine whether her stock purchase was improper.”  However, the report said, “Representative Kelly’s failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged misconduct” and of the investigation itself was a violation of the code of official conduct. The committee did “not find a clear violation” of conflict of interest.  The congressman said in a statement Friday, “My family and I look forward to putting this distraction behind us.”  Kelly noted the investigation has “unnecessarily” lasted for nearly five years, and in the time since the Cleveland Cliffs Butler Works plant faced an uncertain future.