State House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) responded harshly to House Majority leader Dave Hunt’s (D-Clackamas) assertion that fundraising actions taken by state Rep. Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village) to give money out of her campaign contributions to candidates that have hired her on as a consultant were possibly unethical.

“Should Rep. Minnis seek legal action for defamation, House Republicans will stand firmly behind her,” Hanna said. “Oregonians deserve better from their elected leaders. I am deeply disappointed that such a dangerous accusation would come from a state representative, especially one elected to lead his party."

The controversy stems from accusations originally published in The Gresham Outlook. The Outlook reported that, who is in her fifth and final term in the state House, has already taken up a paid consulting job with several Republican candidacies. According to the article, Minnis gave money out of her own campaign coffers to four campaign committees around the time they hired her on as a consultant.

Hunt told The Outlook that he believed Minnis could be, “laundering campaign money for personal gain,” and her actions were “borderline ethical.”