INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – A key aide to Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Gov. Mike Pence, is earning two salaries in an unusual political arrangement.
Joshua Pitcock is collecting $23,000 monthly as Indiana’s lobbyist in Washington even after he took a paid position with the GOP presidential campaign. He’s earned nearly $1 million lobbying since 2012.
Pitcock’s dual, simultaneous employment is unusual. Legal experts said he should be subject to the same ethics rules as state employees. Those generally prohibit such double-dipping. Pence’s office said Pitcock is exempt from most such rules because it treats him as an independent contractor. In August, Pitcock also began working as Pence’s policy director for the election.
The campaign paid Pitcock’s one-person firm $32,374 for event consulting. Pitcock said he refunded $15,612, which he described as an overpayment.
