On Tuesday, the Louisiana Republican Party filed a complaint with the Select Committee on Ethics of the U.S. Senate over Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) use of taxpayer funds to pay for charter flights taken to campaign events. It is against the law for members of Congress to use taxpayer funds to pay for political activities.
The complaint adds to Senator Landrieu’s growing list of political and legal woes, which includes two separate sets of legal challenges filed to her candidacy on Friday, one by Republican challenger Colonel Rob Maness and the other by Republican State Representative Paul Hollis, who in July endorsed Landrieu’s leading Republican challenger, Representative Bill Cassidy.
In the letter, Jason Dote, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said, “Senator Landrieu and her campaign committee, Friends of Mary Landrieu, permitted official resources to be used for a campaign purpose in violation of 31 U.S.C [Section] 1301 (a) by funding charter flights to campaign fundraisers with money from her Senate office account.”
“It is undisputed,” Dote wrote, “that Senator Landrieu spent government funds to aid her in her reelection campaign, and not for any official, authorized purpose, when she chartered a private plane to attend fundraisers in Dallas and Lake Charles.”
Dote asked the Select Committee on Ethics to compel Landrieu to immediately repay all taxpayers funds used for campaign purposes, and to undertake appropriate sanctions against Senator Landrieu for her violation of Senate rules.
As Breitbart News has reported, Senator Landrieu’s campaign said her congressional office was reimbursed for the flight with a credit for another, future charter flight, suggesting taxpayers were not reimbursed in cash for the flight.
You can see the full letter here and embedded below:
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