A case of &ldquo;cyberhacking&rdquo; led to the unofficial release Friday of the names of more than two dozen House members in connection with an ethics inquiry into defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling.</p><p>The disclosure shows that the secret ethics probe is wider than originally believed. Among the names listed was Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, a Wichita Republican and a 2010 U.S. Senate candidate.</p><p>Tiahrt, a member of a powerful subcommittee that controls Pentagon spending, was among seven subcommittee members whose names were disclosed. All were being looked at in connection with their work obtaining earmarks for clients of an influential lobbying firm known as the PMA Group. </p><p>The inquiry is the first of a two-step process and does not mean there has been a finding that the member has violated standards of conduct.</p><p>&ldquo;Although it is unfair to be the victim of a leaked story, I am completely comfortable with discussing how I operate on the committee and am completely comfortable with oversight of our process,&rdquo; Tiahrt said in response to the disclosure.</p><p>He acknowledged that the Office of Congressional Ethics had asked him &ldquo;about the process followed in our office for submitting defense-related project requests to the Appropriations Committee.&rdquo;</p><p>Tiahrt said he and his staff had complied with the request and &ldquo;are more than willing to discuss our process further if there are additional questions.&rdquo;</p><p>The now-defunct PMA Group, whose offices the FBI raided late last year, allegedly was part of a pay-for-play operation in which the firm and its clients benefited from billions of dollars in earmarks in exchange for campaign donations. No one connected with the firm has been charged with a crime.</p><p>The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense is led by Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat with a reputation for landing tens of millions of dollars in earmarks for his district. He has long been known to be the subject of two House ethics committee inquiries, but the leaked documents make clear that about half of the subcommittee&rsquo;s members are being examined.</p><p>The Washington Post reported the existence of the inquiry on Thursday after the extraordinary breach of congressional security was made through &ldquo;peer-to-peer file-sharing software&rdquo; used by a junior employee who was working from home. The employee responsible was fired.</p><p>House ethics investigations typically have two steps. The first is a check by the Office of Congressional Ethics to see if an investigation is warranted. The names released Friday were included in a July report from the panel.</p><p>If a full-scale probe is considered necessary, the second step involves an investigation under the auspices of the House ethics committee. The panel usually makes a public announcement about its activities only when it begins an investigation of potential rule-breaking. </p><p>That hasn&rsquo;t happened in Tiahrt&rsquo;s case.</p><p>Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ethics committee&rsquo;s chairwoman, went to the House floor to announce that the confidential weekly memo had leaked out.</p><p>&ldquo;No inference to any misconduct can be made from the fact that a matter is simply before the committee,&rdquo; said Lofgren, a California Democrat.</p><p>Besides Murtha, subcommittee members who already had been identified prior to Friday in connection with the ethics probe were Rep. Peter Visclosky of Indiana and Rep. James Moran of Virginia, both Democrats.</p><p>In addition to Tiahrt, new names that came to light were Rep. Norm Dicks, a Washington Democrat; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat; and Rep. Bill Young, a Florida Republican.