Fiscal Times: Former Senator Spent $197,500 of Campaign Funds on Legal Costs in Sex Case

“I read the district court decision and thought it was a very well analyzed decision,” said Lawrence Noble, senior counsel for The Campaign Legal Center and an expert on federal campaign finance law. “There’s no doubt that it’s a violation of the law in that you can’t use campaign funds for personal use. I think the FEC has been consistent on this.”

“And the thing he is complaining about now – the disgorging of the funds – I think is clearly within the court’s jurisdiction to order him to give the money to the U.S. Treasury, and not put back into his campaign.” ...

While some politicians choose to return their left-over campaign cash to donors, Noble said, others find it to be too time consuming and difficult in determining who should be repaid and who shouldn’t.

“In this particular case, I think the [judge’s] thought was he misused the funds and therefore he should lose all benefit from it,” Noble said in an interview. “And giving it back to the donors still gives him some benefit from the funds.” ...

To read the full story at the Fiscal Times, click here.