Politico: Stearns faces complaint for personal spending from campaign account
Former Republican Congressman Cliff Stearns has been hit with an FEC complaint for using his former campaign account for both personal use and to bolster his “lobbying activities.”
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"Although Stearns left Congress in 2013, he has used Friends of Cliff Stearns funds for a variety of personal expenses … in violation of the prohibition against converting campaign funds to personal use,” read the complaint, filed Friday by Washington-based Campaign Legal Center.
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“Former Members of Congress spending leftover campaign money as golden parachutes to subsidize their personal lifestyles is a serious misuse of contributions,” said Adav Noti, who is the CLC's senior director, trial litigation and strategy, in a statement. “The law bans elected officials from pocketing the campaign contributions they receive, and the FEC should strictly enforce that ban.”
Brendan Fischer, CLC's director of federal and FEC reform, added: “By law, campaign contributions are to be used for a candidate’s run for office or one’s duties as an officeholder, not as a personal slush fund.”