Something in the water

There must be. The guy who replaced Mark Foley in West Palm, Tim Mahoney, is being investigated by the FBI. [Link]

The FBI is investigating whether Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney broke any laws or misused federal money when he hired a mistress to work in his office, a senior federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Federal agents also are examining whether a second affair Mahoney was having with a high-level official in his Florida district was behind his decision to push for federal emergency funds for her county, the official said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation. The person noted investigators would likely need both women's help to pursue the matter. The cases would be hard to prove without them.

Mahoney has called for a House Ethics Committee investigation of his own conduct and said he would be cleared of wrongdoing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also called for an investigation.

The FBI is looking into whether Mahoney hired the first mistress — and put her on the federal payroll — so she wouldn't reveal their affair, the person said. The woman, Patricia Allen, has not returned repeated calls.

Mahoney, 52, who is married with a child, began his affair with Allen, 50, in 2006 while campaigning for Congress.

He won that year while promising to return morals and family values to Washington after Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley resigned amid revelations that he sent lurid Internet messages to male teenage pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Foley was later cleared of criminal wrongdoing.