The ethics agency for the D.C. government has revived its investigation into disgraced former Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who resigned last month to avoid near-certain expulsion.

The head of the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, Rochelle Ford, publicly confirmed at a D.C. Council oversight hearing on Wednesday that her agency had reactivated an investigation into Evans, which it paused at the end of 2018 in deference to a law enforcement probe. Ford confirmed to DCist that the BEGA investigation into Evans is “no longer in stayed status” as of February 6. The Washington Post was the first to report to news.

Evans served as the Ward 2 councilmember for nearly 30 years before his resignation on Jan. 17. He stepped down from his post after investigators found he had violated ethics rules both as a councilmember and as chair of the Metro board, using his public office for private gain in his consulting business. Evans recently announced that he will be running to replace himself in the Ward 2 race, even as a slew of Democratic candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the seat (all of Evans’ former colleagues on the council have publicly denounced his run.)

Evans’ troubles began intensifying in March of last year, after the Washington Post published a bombshell report that the lawmaker had used his government email account to pitch himself and his work to private consulting clients, suggesting his position and connections as a government official could benefit their business. BEGA fined Evans $20,000 over two of those emails in August and the embattled councilmember agreed to complete an ethics training. Subsequent investigations by the Metro board and by a law firm hired by the D.C. Council found that the councilmember had, on numerous occasions, failed to disclose conflicts of interest and recuse himself from votes that affected his private clients.

As pressure mounted on Evans, the other members of the council unanimously voted to recommend expelling him in December. A final vote on his expulsion was scheduled for days after his resignation on Jan. 17.

But the origins of yet another BEGA investigation go back even further. The ethics board began looking into Evans over his relationship with digital sign company, Digi Media, in 2018. The probe was suspended later that year as federal investigators began looking into Evans (while the scope of that investigation isn’t clear and Evans hasn’t been charged with a crime, the FBI raided his Georgetown home last year.)

Ford confirmed to DCist that BEGA had paused its probe because of the law enforcement investigation. It’s common practice for the agency to defer to law enforcement investigations, Ford says, for various reasons. “Witnesses have very little incentive to come to me and tell me things if they could go to jail,” she says. “So there’s a futility there. And then there’s the problem of them potentially giving conflicting statements, which leads to issues down the line for law enforcement. We want to protect the integrity of their investigation.”

Ford says that Evans’ resignation, as well as the numerous news reports and other investigations into the former lawmaker, have brought enough information into public view that there is less risk of interfering with law enforcement’s probe. BEGA can also rely less on witnesses that may not be willing to come forward, given the amount of information that is already known about Evans’ actions, she says.

Evans decision to run for his old seat didn’t have any bearing on BEGA’s decision to revive the investigation, according to Ford.

Previously:
In Rare Joint Statement, Entire D.C. Council Condemns Jack Evans For Running To Replace Himself
Jack Evans Resigned 100 Days Ago. He Just Filed For Reelection
Jack Evans Resigns From The D.C. Council
A Handy Guide To All Of The Investigations Into Jack Evans
Jack Evans Violated Council’s Ethics Rules 11 Times, Investigation Finds