End Citizens United (ECU) today filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) against Representative Ryan Zinke (MT-01). The complaint centers on advance payments that Zinke’s campaign illegally accepted from his chief of staff.
“Representative Zinke is a walking case study in corruption,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “His blatant disregard for ethics rules and repeated violations throughout his career reveal a disturbing pattern of contempt for the law. This apparent scheme between him and his chief of staff is unambiguously illegal––and we urge the Office of Congressional Ethics to hold Representative Zinke accountable.”
ECU has worked to expose Rep. Zinke’s record of corruption. In May, the group inducted him to its inaugural ‘Most Corrupt’ politicians in Washington list. Throughout his tenure in public office, Zinke has engaged in unprecedented corruption and self-dealing, which culminated in 18 federal investigations and his forced departure from the Trump administration.
The Complaint:
- Between January 19, 2023, and March 12, 2023, Zinke’s campaign committee issued 6 reimbursements to the Chief of Staff of Representative Zinke’s official office, Heather Swift.
- None of these expenses were for travel. The transactions are either expressly labeled as “reimbursements” or reference specific non-travel expenses.
- These labels indicate that the Chief of Staff originally paid for these items using her own funds and was reimbursed by Zinke’s campaign committee. These labels also indicate that these transactions were for campaign expenses such as rent and utilities.
- In total, the reimbursements issued by Representative Zinke’s campaign committee to his congressional employee sums over $7,860 and spans nearly four months.
- Federal law prohibits “an officer or employee of the United States . . . [from] mak[ing] any contribution . . . to any Senator or Representative in . . . Congress, if the person receiving such contribution is the employer or employing authority of the person making the contribution.”
- In applying this law to House employees and their employing Members, the House Ethics Manual (“Ethics Manual”) explains that the ban is “absolute.” The Ethics Manual clearly states that “even if the contribution was entirely unsolicited and the employee genuinely wishes to make the contribution,” they are still prohibited from doing so under federal law.
- FEC regulations define “contribution” as “gift, subscription, loan . . . advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.”
- Recognizing the breadth of this definition, the Ethics Manual explicitly states that “staff members should be aware that under FEC regulations, most outlays that an individual makes on behalf of a campaign are deemed to be a contribution to that campaign from that individual. This is so even if it is intended that the campaign will reimburse the individual promptly.”
- Moreover, the law makes clear that a contribution to a committee authorized by a candidate “shall be considered a contribution to the individual who has authorized such committee.” The Ethics Manual explains that the one exception to this rule is for “outlays that an individual makes to cover expenses that he or she incurs in traveling on behalf of a campaign,” which does not apply to office supplies and does not necessarily apply to event food or beverages.
- The OCE has previously recognized that referred matters with substantially similar facts to the House Committee on Ethics.
- Here, in a pattern reflected over several months, it appears that Representative Zinke’s official staff illegally contributed to their boss’s campaign by advancing payments for campaign expenses.
- It appears that Representative Zinke completely disregarded federal law and repeatedly accepted campaign contributions in the form of advances from an individual employed by his official office.
Click here to read the full complaint.
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