Pelosi Calls For Ethics Probe Of Mahoney

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for an ethics investigation into Rep. Tim Mahoney, she announced Monday in a statement.

"I just learned today about the serious allegations concerning Congressman Tim Mahoney," Pelosi said. "These charges must be immediately and thoroughly investigated by the House Ethics Committee."

Earlier in the day, ABC News reported Monday that Mahoney — the Florida Democrat who replaced disgraced Republican Mark Foley in 2006 — paid $121,000 to a staffer with whom he had an affair.

A Mahoney spokesman didn’t comment on the story but said the first-term representative never used campaign funds to pay off the staffer, according to Crypt colleagues Glenn Thrush and Josh Kraushaar.

Mahoney himself called for the committee to investigate the matter in a statement he released Monday afternoon.

John Bresnahan contributed to this report