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Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, reads his notes before the start of the General Assembly session at the Statehouse, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Indianapolis.
AP Photo/Darron CummingsINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana House Ethics Committee has hired an outside attorney to investigate allegations that House Speaker Brian Bosma used campaign funds to collect unflattering information about a former intern who claims she had a sexual encounter with him decades ago.
House Ethics Chairwoman Sharon Negele tells The Indianapolis Star that Indianapolis attorney Bonnie Martin was hired to conduct an "independent review" of the allegations.
The Star reports Martin has interviewed the former intern and relatives.
Those interviews are the first sign the panel is taking steps to investigate a complaint filed last year after the newspaper reported that Bosma paid a law firm more than $40,000 in campaign funds to gather information about the woman.
Bosma, a married Republican lawmaker, denies having the 1992 encounter with the woman.
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