Charges of ethical problems relating to campaign financing for State Rep. Dan Doyle (R) have been swirling around the state of Oregon for some time, but they reached a climax today as the Joint Ways and Means Chairman was forced to resign. The AP's Brad Cain reports:

State Rep. Dan Doyle resigned as co-chairman of Legislature's powerful budget committee Wednesday after a state investigation into his campaign finance report.

The announcement came from House Speaker Karen Minnis, who said Doyle asked to be removed from the Joint Ways and Means Committee so he could "devote his full attention" to the investigation.

[...]

On Monday, the secretary of state's office began investigating whether Doyle had diverted re-election campaign money to personal use, which is prohibited by state law.

State investigators also are looking at whether the Salem Republican intentionally made false statements on his campaign finance report — which would be a criminal offense under state election laws.

A corrupt Republican... you don't say! Doyle is innocent until proven guilty, of course, but if it turns out that he was purposefully misleading in his campaign finance filings to divert funds, he should go to jail.