Not exactly a surprise that the House Ethics Committee isn't investigating a member of Congress. Not a surprise at all, but this time, there's a reason relating to a federal investigation:

The House ethics committee said Wednesday it will put off for now an expanded investigation into whether Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or his representatives tried to buy President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.

The committee revealed that the deferred investigation now includes allegations that Jackson, a Democrat, improperly used his staff in Washington and Chicago to mount a public campaign to secure the Senate seat.

The committee acted at the behest of federal prosecutors who already are investigating former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The panel normally defers investigations when requested by law enforcement, to avoid interference with prosecutors.

Yesterday, CREW designated Rep. Jesse Jackson one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress.

Via Bloomberg, we learn that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been paying his wife a consulting fee from his campaign account for the past eight years.  He was also helping to finance her campaign for Chicago City Council:

Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.’s congressional campaign organization has paid his wife at least $247,500 since 2001, including at least $95,000 after Sandra Jackson joined the Chicago City Council two years ago, according to federal election records.

Jackson’s political committee also gave at least $298,927 in cash and in-kind contributions to Sandra Jackson’s campaign fund, which bankrolled her races for a city council seat that pays more than $100,000 per year and an unpaid position on the Cook County Democratic Committee.

Sandra Jackson, known as Sandi, received the $95,000 for political consulting after pledging during her campaign to give “my full attention” to the alderman’s post.

Jesse Jackson got a Federal Election Commission advisory opinion in 2001 saying his campaign could pay Sandi Jackson for consulting work without violating a ban on personal use of political donations. Even so, the Chicago Democrat’s fundraising is so entangled with his family’s interests that he’s pushing the limits of propriety, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit ethics watchdog group.

“Much of this may be legal, but let’s refer back to an old quote: the scandal in Washington often is what’s legal,” said Sloan, whose group in 2007 reported on relatives who profit from their ties to members of Congress. “Mr. Jackson is availing himself of the full range of loopholes by which he can transfer money to his family.”

Aides say both Jacksons take care to avoid legal or ethical conflicts.

CREW documented the payments from campaign accounts to family members in our report, Family Affair, in June of 2007.  Shortly after in July of 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban payment to spouses from campaign accounts.

Today's Chicago Sun-Times has yet another revelation in the unfolding controversy surrounding Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois.  We already know that the House Office of Congressional Ethics has begun an initial investigation into Jackson's role in this scandal.  Now, we're learning that fundraisers for Jackson may have offered to raise significant sums for Blagojevich if Jackson got the Senate seat:

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say.

Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say.

This is the first revelation that a proposal for the Jackson appointment involved an alleged promise that he’d raise campaign cash for the ex-governor.

Also, the amount of money allegedly offered to Blagojevich is significantly higher than what’s been reported so far.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the new Office of Congressional Ethics is actually doing something.  Apparently, the OCE has begun an investigation into Rep. Jesse Jackson's role in the effort of then-Governor Rod Blagojevich to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.  The Sun-Times lists a number of people who were asked by OCE to provide information:

A congressional ethics board has launched a preliminary inquiry into U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), related to President Obama's vacant Senate seat and the corruption investigation of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, formed just last year, voted in late March to conduct a "preliminary review" of actions surrounding Jackson's bid to be appointed to the Senate seat, according to documents released to parties involved in the probe. The revelation means Jackson is the second member of the Illinois delegation undergoing an ethical review related to the Blagojevich scandal. The U.S. Senate ethics committee is investigating U.S. Sen. Roland Burris.

The committee probing Jackson launched its action Thursday -- the same day Blagojevich was indicted on corruption charges.

The panel has asked parties in the Blagojevich case -- including his former gubernatorial staff and campaign staff -- to turn over any documents, e-mails, or other correspondence involving Jackson Jr. and his campaign staff; Jackson's brother, Jonathan, and political fund-raisers Raghuveer Nayak and Rajinder Bedi, lawyers close to the probe told the Sun-Times. The request for information is from June of last year through Dec. 31, 2008.