Activist groups ask for Senate ethics probe into Sinema's alleged misuse of staff

Over a dozen activists groups have asked for an ethics probe into allegations Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is using her staff for personal errands other tasks outside of their official duties.

The request was filed Thursday with the Senate Ethics Committee, and some of the groups are from Sinema's home state of Arizona, according to The Hill newspaper.

A spokeswoman for the senator, a Democrat who recently became an Independent, denied the allegations. 

A recent document that emerged late last year got the attention of groups such as the Revolving Door Project and Common Defense. The 37-page document war originally reported on by the Daily Beast.

The document was allegedly a how-to for staffer on assisting Sinema and setting her schedule, frequently around triathlon training.

"It has been reported and is apparently substantiated by both written evidence and personal testimony that the senator has enlisted staff to conduct a wide variety of activities unrelated to their job responsibilities," the activist groups wrote this week in a letter to Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the panel’s vice chairman.  

"The activities that the senator has allegedly required of staff appear to be unambiguous violations of the Senate Ethics Committee guidelines that interpret the rules adopted by the Senate," the letter also states.

The Daily Beast reported the memo instructed staffers to "call Verizon to schedule a repair" regarding her internet not working at home. 

Sinema’s spokeswoman Hannah Hurley responded to the Daily Beast story by saying: "The alleged information – sourced from anonymous quotes and a purported document I can’t verify – is not in line with official guidance from Sen. Sinema’s office and does not represent official policies of Sen. Sinema’s office."