Aide's work not unethical, Coburn says

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn says there is nothing unethical about one of his top aides managing the campaign of the man Coburn wants to be his successor in Congress. "This is absolutely

Thursday, February 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn says there is nothing unethical about one of his top aides managing the campaign of the man Coburn wants to be his successor in Congress. "This is absolutely ethical," Coburn, R-Okla., said Wednesday.

He said the House Ethics Committee has approved the political activities of Karl Ahlgren, Coburn's chief of staff. Ahlgren has started his own political consulting company and is managing the campaign of retired Muskogee auto dealer Andy Ewing. Ahlgren, who gets paid $92,000 per year, who will remain on the federal payroll and continue to work out of Coburn's Muskogee office. He plans to remain on the congressional payroll, splitting his time hour by hour between Coburn's office and the Ewing campaign.

House rules appear to allow Ahlgren to do that as long as he keeps adequate records and refrains from doing any political business while on government time. It is not unusual for congressional aides to volunteer for campaign work or even take a paid position with a campaign. Ahlgren's situation is somewhat unusual because he wants to split time for the next several months on an hour-to-hour basis and because he is not working for Coburn's campaign but for another House candidate. "It makes no difference that it is hour by hour," Coburn told the Tulsa World's Washington bureau. "We have created a hard line there, and he understands that. No tax dollars will be spent, no ederal resources used. "If there were ... he would be fired and he knows that."