INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A Republican congressman running for Senate in Indiana billed his campaign more than $2,000 in airfare for his family’s trip to the Ronald Reagan library in California, an apparent violation of federal election laws.
The expense is part of hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, meals and vehicle payments U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman has charged to his campaign fund since 2010.
Federal Election Commission guidelines forbid the use of an official campaign fund for personal expenses.
Stutzman was first elected to Congress amid a wave of tea party insurgency in 2010. He has regularly found himself at odds with members of the GOP establishment and says he was sent to Congress to rein in spending.
