Copeland Files Ethics Complaint Against Congressional Opponent Van Epps

Darden Copeland, Democratic candidate in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, has filed an ethics complaint against his Republican opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps.

The complaint, filed Monday, asks the Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate whether Van Epps used taxpayer-funded staff to run his reelection campaign. The filing focuses on Alex Joyner, a Van Epps senior adviser who previously served as the congressman’s campaign manager.

Copeland claims U.S. House of Representatives records and campaign records show Joyner was never taken off the campaign payroll. The candidate cites statements of disbursements and campaign filings, noting Joyner received $61,805.58 from taxpayers and $12,493.91 from the campaign between January and June of this year. Copeland also notes Fox 17's reporting from Sept. 20, which refers to Joyner as Van Epps’ campaign manager.

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“I have confirmed that it is also common knowledge that Joyner has worked on other races in Tennessee while Matt Van Epps and [Tennessee] taxpayers paid him a lucrative salary,” Copeland writes in the complaint.

Copeland notes the races are believed to include Mayor Andy Marshall of Williamson County, Republican state House candidate Perry Keenan and state House candidate Jason Fleming. The complaint includes social media posts featuring photos of Marshall and Joyner together.

“Everyone knows that managing a campaign for Congress is a full-time job,” the complaint continues.

“It appears that Matt Van Epps is offsetting his lackluster campaign fundraising by letting taxpayers pay his campaign manager a salary of $120,000, and also allows Joyner to collect a full-time government check from taxpayers while Joyner spends his time managing and working on other political races in Tennessee.”

Copeland also alleges Joyner was reimbursed thousands of dollars for travel expenses. He suggests the Office of Congressional Conduct investigate this and subpoena Joyner’s phone calls, text messages and emails.

“This complaint is misleading, factually unsupported, and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the law," reads a statement sent by a spokesperson for Van Epps' office. "It is a political attack from a partisan operative, not a serious ethics complaint.”

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.