CREW FILES FEC COMPLAINT AGAINST FEDERAL CANDIDATES FOR VIOLATING FEC RULES BY PURCHASING CLOTHING WITH CAMPAIGN FUNDS

2 Dec 2008 // Washington, D.C. - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against candidates for the House of Representatives and the presidency, for improperly spending campaign funds in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).

According to FEC reports, clothing purchases were made by the campaign committees of Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Utah congressional candidate Bill Dew (R), North Carolina congressional candidate William Breazeale (R), and Andrew MacPherson, campaign staffer for Bob Barr‘s 2008 presidential campaign committee.

The amount each candidate spent on clothing is as follows:
Rep. Andrews, $952.04
Rep. Sanchez, $334.09
Bill Dew, $1,089.16
William Breazeale, $1,000
Andrew MacPherson, Barr campaign staffer, $500.00

These acquisitions violate campaign finance law.

FECA specifically prohibits a candidate for federal office from converting campaign funds to personal use. FEC regulations make clear that the prohibition applies to clothing purchases, such as those made for the above listed candidates.

CREW filed an FEC complaint in September against failed vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the Republican National Committee (RNC) for spending $150,000 on clothing for Palin and her family in violation of the FECA.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, “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?” Sloan continued, “There is no excuse for this conduct; the FEC should investigate these members and candidates immediately.”

Read CREW's FEC complaint in the Related Documents section on the right.