WMATA board chair Jack Evans violated the board’s ethics code multiple times, according to a law firm hired to investigate the matter at the request of the Metro ethics committee.

The law firm found Evans violated the ethics code in his dealings with Colonial Parking, electronic sign company Digi Media, and in his attempts to solicit a job in the private sector.

Ethics board chair Clarence Crawford released the four-page letter on the Evans investigation late afternoon Monday, just hours after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam called for the release of the full investigation.

The committee could only reach a majority vote in once case, citing Evans over “Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest” in the Colonial Parking issue.

Hours after the governors' request, WMATA ethics board chair Clarence Crawford has released this letter on the Evans investigation. pic.twitter.com/VaEYVf1ZlS

— Jordan Pascale (@JWPascale) June 17, 2019

The ethics committee “determined that Mr. Evans would no longer be Chair of the WMATA Board, and would amend his annual disclosure forms from 2016 to the present to list his consulting agreement with Colonial Parking,” Crawford wrote.

Mark Tuohey, a lawyer representing Evans said that the letter “misrepresents what occurred.” Tuohey says the ethics committee did not conclude that Evans should step down and did not agree on the issues outlined in the letter.

“It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tuohey said. “Crawford presented his views, but his views are irrelevant… it’s the committee’s [views]. They considered and voted… no violation.”

The discrepancy between Tuohey and Crawford’s accounts remains unclear.

The board can sanction members, but not remove them. In May, Evans announced he would not seek re-election as board chair. At the time, he said it was time for another jurisdiction to hold the chairmanship, after his three-and-a-half years in the role. But he will remain a member of the Metro board.

Only the D.C. Council could remove Evans as their representative. His term is otherwise up in January 2023.

Law firm looked at three issues

The committee hired law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel to conduct the six-week investigation over claims that Evans used his position as chair for personal benefits.

Evans had a $50,000 a year consulting contract with Colonial Parking and was close friends with CEO Rusty Lindner, according to the findings.

Evans used his position as chair to “wage a campaign against LAZ Parking,” the company that handles reserved parking in garages for WMATA. He also gave Colonial inside information as they were soliciting WMATA, the letter states.

“By working to benefit his friend Lindner and consulting client, Colonial, Mr. Evans placed the best interests of these parties above the best interests of WMATA,” according to the letter.

Evans also consulted with Digi, a digital sign company. The law firm found that Evans violated his duty to avoid conflict as he didn’t disclose the relationship.

And lastly, Evans offered his services to Nelson Mullins and touted his position as WMATA board chair as a reason to hire him. The law firm says Evans used his official position for financial gain.

At the end of May, after the councilmember said he wouldn’t run for reelection as the chairman, Crawford said the case was “resolved.”

But several ANC commissioners and other local politicians have been calling for the release of the investigation for weeks. And in an unusual joint letter, Northam and Hogan questioned the WMATA board’s decision not to release the findings and said transparency and accountability must be preserved.

“The circumstances that necessitated the investigation are troubling and raise concerns regarding WMATA’s overall accountability,” the letter states. “As Governors of Maryland and Virginia, we have been entrusted by our citizens to provide transparency and accountability in all aspects of government — most importantly, the expenditures of public funds and oversight of institutions… to which public funds are distributed.”

Two hours later, Crawford released the report.

The scandal began over Evans’ ties to Digi Media, which tried to pay $50,000 to his consulting company and offered his son an internship. The councilmember introduced legislation that would have benefited the digital company.

He also used his government email account to send business proposals, trading on his influence as a city lawmaker and member of the WMATA board.

Evans is now under federal investigation. The D.C. Council has reprimanded him and stripped him of some of his responsibilities as the chair of the Finance Committee.

A group of activists is attempting to directly recall the council member from office. And with a year until the Democratic primary, four candidates have already lined up to challenge him.

“The blatant ethical violations found by this investigation — including multiple examples of Jack Evans using his official position to advance the interests of his paying clients — should be disqualifying for both the Metro Board and the DC Council,” candidate Jordan Grossman said in a press release sent within two hours of the release of the ethics committee report. “Evans also appears to have purposely deceived the public about why he was stepping down as Chair of the Metro Board, which is absolutely unacceptable.”