Disgraced Anthony Weiner's Campaign Cost Swells after Resignation
Disgraced Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner may have resigned from his position amid a torrid scandal, but that did not stop his campaign from continuing to spend nearly $130,000 in the three months since he resigned.
Weiner's campaign recently reported about $10,000 in travel expenses, $25,000 on consulting firms and research, and about $30,000 on legal fees. At the time of his departure from congressional office, his campaign reportedly had refunded about $15,000 and ended the FEC filing period with nearly $92,000 cash on hand, according to The Hill.
Most of the expenditures, including the travel to Washington, are associated with the winding down of Anthony's campaign, said Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for Weiner who is still being paid by the campaign, in an article by The Hill. I remain on the payroll to field the regular calls...that continue to come in related to his service in Congress.
Weiner is the fourth highest spender out of all the U.S. representatives during the third quarter, according to The Hill. He was out of his office during this time.
Back in June, Weiner stepped down as Congressman after a lewd photo was sent via Twitter to a 21-year-old from Seattle. Weiner had originally tried to dismiss the photo saying his account was hacked and that it was just a prank. However, more photos continued to surface as allegations about Weiner's online relationships came to light. Eventually, he admitted to having six online relationships with various women across the country. One woman, Traci Nobles, plans to release a book about her experiences having an online relationship with Weiner. Republican Bob Turner won Weiner's seat in a special election in September.
This type of spending by campaigns even after a lawmaker steps down is not unique to Weiner. Reports indicate that Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) kept his wife on campaign payroll, paying her more than $5,000 from July to September to act as a campaign committee treasurer. Massa resigned in March 2010 amidst allegations of sexual harassment.
Massa's months of spending have primarily gone to legal fees and law firms, who represent him amid investigations from Congress. Massa also is suing his former chief of staff who allegedly stole about $40,000 in campaign funds and donations. The Department of Justice, the FEC and the House Ethics Committee also launched investigations on Massa.
Former Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) resigned back in February after a he sent shirtless photos of himself to a woman through Craigslist.com. His campaign spent about $1,100 in the third quarter. Former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) also spent thousands in campaign funds after he resigned in April after he admitted to having an affair with the spouse of an aide.
The Hill also pointed out that these campaign accounts can stay open for several years after the end of a political race. Several former presidential candidates still have active campaign committees and accounts and they pay off their debts, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
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