Ethics Panel Extends Investigation of Rep. Jackson

WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee has extended its investigation of Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

The committee is investigating whether Jackson or someone acting on his behalf, offered to raise funds for then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in return for an appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

The committee said Tuesday there was no longer a request to defer the case. That request had come from the Justice Department.

Blagojevich, who won two terms as Illinois governor, was convicted in June of a wide range of corruption charges, including trying to sell the Senate seat.

Jackson has acknowledged he was "Senate Candidate A" in the Blagojevich criminal complaint, one of several candidates whom authorities say the former governor considered for the Senate seat.