Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales has publicly admitted to having an affair with his former aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide last September.

Gonzales described the affair as a “lapse in judgment” and said he reconciled with his wife and sought forgiveness through his faith.

The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct or offered unfair privileges to employees.

Gonzales denied any involvement in Santos-Aviles’s death and claimed her widower’s lawyer sought $300,000 from him in what he described as a “shake down,” though the lawyer says the claims were legal under the Congressional Accountability Act, The Guardian has reported.

Gonzales, a Navy veteran in his third term, is facing a May runoff against Brandon Herrera in the GOP primary.