DEMOCRAT DIRTY LAUNDRY: Andrews Treats Campaign Coffers Like a Personal Piggy Bank
New Jersey Democrat Uses Campaign Account for Travel to European Wedding
SPIN CYCLE: Then-Speaker Pelosi Promised that Democrats Would “Demand the Highest Ethics from Every Public Servant”:
“Our goal is to restore accountability, honesty and openness at all levels of government. To do so, we will create and enforce rules that demand the highest ethics from every public servant, sever unethical ties between lawmakers and lobbyists, and establish clear standards that prevent the trading of official business for gifts.” (Nancy Pelosi’s “A New Direction for America,” Page 21)
RINSE CYCLE: Andrews Put Five-Star Hotel, Travel and Wedding Gift for Scotland Wedding on Campaign Tab:
“A three-night stay at a five-star hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a wedding: $7,725.
“A set of china from Bloomingdale’s for the bride and groom: $463.
“Cab rides, meals, tips and airline baggage fees: $953.
“Expensing it to your campaign account: Priceless.
“In June, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1st Dist.) and his family visited Edinburgh for a wedding — part of a larger European vacation. There, Andrews, his wife and two teenage daughters stayed at the Balmoral Hotel in the center of town, which bills itself as a ‘luxury hotel in the true sense of the word.’ The price was indeed five-star: Two rooms for three nights cost $7,725.
“Nor did they go to Scotland empty-handed. The family bought a $463 china set from Bloomingdale’s as a gift to the newlyweds.
“In all, Andrews and his family spent more than $9,000 on the Edinburgh leg of the trip. Rather, his congressional campaign did.
“The hotel, wedding gift, and several hundred more dollars for ground transportation, meals and petty cash came not from the family’s pockets, but from Andrews’ campaign fund, according to a Star-Ledger review of his campaign-finance-reports. …
“But the Edinburgh trip is just one of many instances in which the South Jersey congressman — who together with his wife earned more than $500,000 in 2010 — mixed personal and political expenses in an unorthodox way.” (Matt Friedman, “South Jersey Congressman Spent $9,000 From Campaign Funds on Donor’s Wedding,” The Star-Ledger, 11/19/2011)
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