WASHINGTON — Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, has vigorously denied allegations by a disgruntled former employee that his paid congressional staff was forced to perform campaign duties and run personal errands on official time.

Ethics rules forbid congressional staff from working on an election campaign while working on official time.

Staff members often use free time to help their bosses' political campaigns, volunteering at night or on weekends. But if a legislative aide does extensive political work during a session, congressional rules require the aide to take a leave of absence from the legislative office.

Laura I. Flores, who has pleaded guilty to fraud, worked in Abercrombie's congressional office and for Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., in the 2005-06 campaign period.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema sentenced Flores to six months in prison for embezzling $169,000 from congressional accounts controlled by Abercrombie and Harman.

The Washington Post reported today that Flores is cooperating with a government inquiry into the use of legislative resources that has raised questions about whether congressional staff were paid in part for helping with campaigns, according to a source familiar with the case and court documents.

Flores has accused Abercrombie and Harmon of forcing congressional staff to perform campaign duties and run personal errands on official time.

Both Abercrombie and Harman denied the allegations.

Both said they ran lean campaigns that relied heavily on volunteers during 2005 and 2006.

Abercrombie spent $810,000 on his 2006 re-election campaign, but none of that went to his legislative staff, according to his campaign finance report.

David Helfert, a spokesman for Abercrombie's congressional office, said the 10-term lawmaker completely separates his legislative aides and political operation. "There's a line. We know where it is. So we don't cross it," he said.

Harman said "my office is meticulous (in record-keeping), and I have no reason to believe we have ever behaved inappropriately."

Abercrombie's campaign is almost a "totally volunteer-centric situation," Helfert said, though three outside consultants have been on his campaign payroll.

The "Abercrombie for Congress" 2006 campaign paid for everything from $67,000 in catering for a fundraiser to $39,000 for office rent and $4,278 for Christmas cards to be printed and mailed. Aside from the consultants, however, there are no records of who staffed the campaign office or who sent out the holiday cards.

Citing the Flores case, a watchdog group called on the House ethics committee to investigate whether lawmakers routinely flout rules that bar legislative employees from performing campaign work on official time.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington urged the House ethics panel to launch its own probe of a problem it warned may be "pervasive." CREW asked congressional leaders to establish a process for staff to complain about abuses without fear of retaliation.

"American taxpayers have a right to assume that their money is being spent on the people's business and not on campaign activities or personal matters," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW.

Former aides to several House members have accused the lawmakers of flouting campaign rules, according to their accounts and reports issued by CREW last year.