Group files complaint against Andrews, alleging a Palin problem
By Wally Edge
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group that promotes ethics and accountability, has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that several candidates, including U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, used $952.04 of campaign funds to buy clothing. The group filed a similar complaint against GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in September.
“Sarah Palin wasn’t the only candidate to violate the law by using campaign money for clothing, several others did as well. Campaign finance laws are not optional, but if candidates can’t abide by these laws how can we trust them to be lawmakers?,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “There is no excuse for this conduct; the FEC should investigate these members and candidates immediately.”
CREW says that federal election law “specifically prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use.”
"Because he had to dress for his speech immediately, he had to purchase an entirely new set of clothes," said Andrews aide Francis Tagmire in a statement. "The campaign credit card used to pay for the clothing was reimbursed in total by the airline, which wrote a check for $952.04 to the congressman on July 20, 2007. The congressman then endorsed the check over to the campaign account on July 20, 2007. Thus, the campaign incurred no expense for the clothing."
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