These Congressmembers Turned Campaign Contributions Into Luxury Travel - and Somehow, it's Not

[TexasTowelie]

These Congressmembers Turned Campaign Contributions Into Luxury Travel – and Somehow, it's Not Illegal


Congressman Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) is no stranger to the St. Regis Deer Valley resort, making regular visits to the five-star property in Park City, Utah, according to his campaign finance disclosures. Those trips — at least five of them since 2018 — were funded by corporate contributions through his political action committee, Keep America Rolling.

Although election law strictly prohibits using political funds for personal use, and the St. Regis touts its “unmatched luxury” — including nightly champagne sabering — it’s not illegal for Kelly to have used $64,000 in contributions to pay for the trips, because they were identified on his campaign disclosures as fundraising travel.

However, those same PAC filings show virtually no money was raised for the committee within weeks of each Deer Valley trip.

A new report from nonpartisan watchdogs Issue One and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) cites Kelly as just one of dozens of members of Congress exploiting leadership PAC loopholes to turn corporate contributions into luxury travel and personal indulgences, from golf trips to beach vacations to tabs at exclusive social clubs — all under the amorphous umbrella of fundraising.

Read more: https://www.lx.com/politics/these-congressmembers-turned-campaign-contributions-into-luxury-travel-and-somehow-its-not-illegal/43434/