Watchdog group files ethics charge against Coleman
by The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A Washington watchdog group has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether Senator Norm Coleman's Capitol Hill living arrangement violates the Senate gifts rule.

Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, has been living in the basement of campaign consultant Jeff Larson for the past year, and missed a couple of rent payments until the magazine National Journal brought them to his attention.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wants the Ethics Committee to determine whether the $600 monthly rent Coleman pays is fair market value. The group is also asking the committee to determine whether Coleman would have paid the missing rent checks had the magazine not flagged them.

Coleman campaign spokesman Luke Friedrich says that Coleman is paying fair market value "for a cramped basement bedroom."