Senator accused of illegally using campaign funds to splurge on pricey trips to Europe and 'California wine country' [View all]

Source: Law & Crime

Dec 28th, 2024, 12:53 pm


Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has been accused of using campaign funds to splurge on travel expenses for trips to Europe, Japan, Aspen and “California wine country.” The Democrat-turned-independent “illegally” used the money to pay for chartered domestic and international flights, hotels, personal meals and catering — which “appear unrelated to any campaign or official business,” according to a government watchdog group.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit, hurled the accusations in a complaint filed last week with the Federal Election Commission, which has been urged to refer the allegations to the Department of Justice. According to the group, Sinema “appears” to have violated criminal law and election rules by using campaign funds for “personal” purposes.

“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (‘CREW’) brings this complaint before the Federal Election Commission seeking an immediate investigation and enforcement action against Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and her principal campaign committee, Sinema for Arizona, for apparent direct and serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act,” the complaint says. “FECA prohibits political campaign committees from expending campaign funds for personal use if the expenses ‘would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign.’ Senator Sinema appears to have used the financial support of her campaign committee in place of other sources of funding to pay for her personal travel, which existed irrespective of her government service and Senate campaign.”

What makes Sinema’s case stand out even more, according to the watchdog group, is that she announced she would not run for reelection in March, “exactly eight months before Election Day, and before Sinema for Arizona disbursed over $100,000 for what appear to be personal travel expenses,” the complaint says.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/flagrant-and-serious-violations-senator-accused-of-illegally-using-campaign-funds-to-splurge-on-pricey-trips-to-europe-and-california-wine-country/