A House committee on Friday announced an inquiry into a possible ethics violation by U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky. The statement followed an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which concluded there was “substantial reason to believe” that Whitfield had committed one or more ethics violations. The House Committee on Ethics’ brief news release noted that it had reached no conclusion about whether a violation had in fact occurred, and it did not disclose the nature of Whitfield’s alleged misconduct. Its announcement follows reports by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting that showed Whitfield, his wife, and a nationally-known lobbyist had a joint financial interest in residential property at a West Virginia luxury resort, from 2003 through 2013. KyCIR found that Whitfield’s wife — a lobbyist for the Humane Society’s Legislative Fund — and lobbyist Juanita Duggan both advocated for clients that had business before Whitfield in Congress.