Over the weekend, we learned from the Washington Post that Laura Flores, a former Capito Hill staffer, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud.   But, that's not all.   Ms. Flores is cooperating with federal authorities looking into whether members of Congress use government resources for political campaigns and other personal purposes:

In the course of plea negotiations, however, Flores provided testimony and documents as part of a previously unreported Justice Department investigation into whether members of Congress used phones, supplies and staff time for campaign purposes, according to the source.

Investigators also are looking into whether members of Congress directed their staffs to perform personal errands on government time, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is at an early stage.

Congressional aides are prohibited from raising money or participating in campaign activities while on the government payroll, said election law expert Lawrence M. Noble. "It's a serious matter," he added.

The Politico has today's update:

The news was buried deep in a Page Two story in Saturday’s Washington Post, but it’s gotten the city’s lawyers chattering. The Department of Justice, according to a confidential source in the Post article, is investigating whether members of Congress have been improperly using staff and office resources.

The Justice Department declined to comment, but that hasn’t diminished the buzz on Capitol Hill. “Nobody’s heard anything,” said Andrew Herman, a congressional ethics attorney who by Monday morning had already fielded a number of calls from nervous lawyers. “There’s just concern that this could become another House banking investigation.”

If Justice is, in fact, looking into the way that members of Congress use taxpayer dollars, Herman said the concern might be justified. “I’m sure that there are certainly times that staff is used inappropriately. How could there not be?” he said, though he added that he had no specific examples of irregularities.

It’s unclear how serious the investigation is or whether there actually is an investigation.