Photo by David Clow – Maryland

A congressional report issued yesterday by two ranking Republicans suggests that schools chancellor Michelle Rhee performed “damage control” for her now-fiance Kevin Johnson during investigations into Johnson’s alleged sexual misconduct and misuse of Americorps funds at the St. Hope charter school he founded in Sacramento.

Johnson, an ex-NBA player, is currently mayor of Sacramento. Rhee confirmed that the couple got engaged earlier this month.

According to the New York Times, “The report does not accuse Ms. Rhee, who was on the board of the school, of any wrongdoing, and her spokeswoman, Jennifer Calloway, said it ‘rehashes old allegations that have long since been dismissed and deemed meritless.’ ” Rhee resigned from the St. Hope board before beginning her work as schools chancellor in D.C. in 2007; reports of her romantic involvement with Johnson only began to surface last winter. However, given the contentious atmosphere around Rhee’s reform efforts here in the District, it is likely this report, and the national attention it has received, will energize her opponents.