GOP Aide Brandon Phillips Accused of Hiring Girlfriend as 'Ghost Intern'

• A nonpartisan Congressional ethics watchdog found Brandon Phillips, former chief of staff for Rep. Mike Collins, hired his girlfriend, Caroline Craze, as a 'ghost intern'.
• Craze was paid over $10,000 but allegedly "did not perform duties commensurate with her compensation," working at Cox Communications concurrently.
• The OCC report suggests "substantial reason to believe" Phillips used congressional resources for unauthorized purposes and Collins retained an employee who didn't perform duties.
• Phillips, now working for Collins' Senate campaign, has a history of legal troubles, including battery and animal cruelty charges.
• The US House of Representatives Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations against Collins and Phillips, though Collins' lawyer dismisses them as "meritless."

Why It Matters: Republican aide Brandon Phillips faces ethics probe for allegedly hiring his girlfriend as a paid 'ghost intern'.