Mace: ethics probe is 'probably retaliation for Epstein, let's be honest'

Four days after the House Ethics Committee publicly released the OCC report finding "substantial reason to believe" she had engaged in improper reimbursement practices, Rep. Nancy Mace sat down with The Daily Signal to deliver her answer.

"This is probably retaliation for Epstein, let's be honest," she told the outlet on March 6, 2026. "When you fight the swamp, the swamp fights back."

Mace also tied the timing of the release to her ongoing civil litigation: the story dropped, she said, "an hour after my deposition of the Clintons."

Attacking the investigator. Mace's office went further, targeting Omar S. Ashmawy, the OCC's Staff Director and Chief Counsel who presented the referral. Her office said she was "not taking seriously an ethics complaint led by a man, Omar Ashmawy, who is himself accused of beating women and has a DUI." Mace's office's characterization should be noted: these are unverified allegations relayed by Mace's office. A 2015 matter involving Ashmawy was reported as settled; Ashmawy has not been convicted of any crime in connection with the cited allegations, and Maceopedia has not independently confirmed the underlying assault allegation or the asserted DUI. Maceopedia reports Mace's office's statement as her characterization, not as established fact.

Counsel's position. Through attorney William M. Sullivan Jr. of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Mace had previously called the OCC report "fundamentally flawed" and suggested it "appears to incorporate unverified assertions and materials that may have originated from, or been influenced by, Rep. Mace's former fiancé," per the Washington Examiner and WIS-TV.

The investigation context. The OCC voted 6-0 on November 18, 2025 to find substantial reason to believe Mace sought reimbursements that exceeded her actual lodging expenses at a D.C. property she co-owned with her then-fiancé, and recommended the Ethics Committee issue subpoenas to Mace and three former staffers who refused to cooperate. The Committee has made no finding that Mace violated any law or House rule. The investigation is ongoing.

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Sources: The Daily Signal, Pedro Rodriguez (Mar. 6, 2026) · Washington Examiner, Rachel Schilke (Mar. 2, 2026) · WIS-TV, Marley Bassett (Mar. 2, 2026) · OCC Report and Findings, Rep. Mace (PDF) | Ethics Investigation hub · House Ethics Investigation