Democratic candidate Max Rose accuses Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of violating ethics rules over podium flap

Max Rose, the former Democratic congressman who’s running against Rep. Nicole Malliotakis to reclaim his former seat in New York’s 11th Congressional District, has accused his rival of violating ethics rules for using her government podium at a campaign event.

A supporter of Rose plans to file a formal complaint with the House Committee on Ethics by Monday morning, according to sources close to Rose’s campaign.

Max Rose (left) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y. (right)

That complaint is expected to be based, in part, on a photo posted on the Bay Ridge Democrats’ Twitter feed that shows Malliotakis campaign staffers affixing a campaign poster to her official House of Representatives podium.

“Like other career politicians, Nicole thinks that taxpayer money is just there for her to abuse however she wants — no matter how unethical or illegal,” Rose said in a statement to the Daily News. “We know that Nicole does not care about protecting taxpayer money because this is not the first time she’s done this and is just another clear example of why she does not belong anywhere near Congress.”

Malliotakis represents Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn and currently occupies the Congressional seat once held by Rose. She leads Rose by six percentage points, according to recent polling, and has focused much of her campaign on highlighting high inflation rates and crime. Rose has attacked Malliotakis over her stances on abortion.

According to a draft complaint obtained by The News, the Rose supporter will claim that Malliotakis “violated the ethics rules of the House by using congressional property, her official podium, as a prop for a campaign event; and an employee on her congressional staff set up the podium and conducted logistics for this campaign event.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' podium with an official Congressional seal of the House of Representatives was covered with a campaign poster by her campaign staff.

The controversy over Malliotakis podium comes several months after she took heat from a good government group for using government funds for ads.

“It looks like it is technically legal but it is not what taxpayer money should be spent for. These ads look and sound like campaign ads,” Common Cause New York’s Executive Director Susan Lerner said at the time.

Malliotakis did not immediately respond to questions.

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