The allegations of insider trading against U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, have now brought on an official investigation.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Bachus had been notified by the Office of Congressional Ethics that they were investigating whether he had used information gained through his position for his personal gain, namely in a series of stock and stock-option trades over the past few years.

Bachus’ office confirmed the investigation on Friday, with the Congressman issuing a statement saying, “I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight. I respect the congressional ethics process. I have fully abided by the rules governing members of Congress and look forward to the full exoneration this process will provide.”

The investigation, in the midst of Bachus’ contested Republican primary, couldn’t come at a worse time for the incumbent. His two main challengers are State Sen. Scott Beason of Gardendale and Blount County Probate Judge David Standridge of Hayden.

“I think the probe pretty much speaks for itself,” Beason said Tuesday. “They led us to believe there’s nothing there and now there’s an official probe. I think that speaks volumes.”

Beason issued a statement via his campaign website which read, “The fact that Congressman Bachus is now apparently being investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics should be troubling to the residents of District 6. Alabamians need to be sure that their Representative is looking out for them, not lining his own pockets.  It is now clearer than ever that we need to send new leadership to clean up the corruption and unethical behavior in Washington.”

Meanwhile, Standridge had been hearing about the announcement of the investigation all day Thursday on the campaign trail.

“I’ve been getting calls, text messages and Facebook messages about it all day and night,” Standridge said. “Even though there’s been a lot of news related to this, this [investigation] takes it to a whole new level.

“Our campaign had been gaining a whole lot of momentum, especially in the last two weeks. But now I’ve received probably four times as many calls. It’s helped my fundraising, too. Our campaign is not on the same level as an incumbent Congressman who’s been raising money for 20 years,” Standridge added.

Bachus is accused of trading stocks and options using information gained through his position on the House Financial Services Committee, of which he has been the chairman since the GOP took over the majority in 2010. Before that, he was the ranking minority member when Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., held the gavel under the Democratic majority.

The accusations against Bachus came in the book “Throw Them All Out” by Peter Schweizer, which was heavily publicized by Andrew Breitbart, operator of several conservative news websites. The allegations were also the subject of a report on the CBS program “60 Minutes.”

The Office of Congressional Ethics is the investigative arm of Congress, but has no enforcement power of its own. It is comprised on an eight-person board of directors, none of whom serve in Congress or even work for the federal government. It lacks subpoena power, and is required to carry out investigations in a relatively short period of time, usually less than three months. But it is unlikely that a finding will be published before the Republican primary on March 13.

If the OCE finds violations, it publishes the results on its website and elsewhere, and refers its findings to the House Ethics Committee. That committee is the only body with the power to take punitive action against a member.

Melanie Patterson contributed to this report.