Once upon a time, during President Donald Trump’s first term, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) tweeted that “No one is above the law, including the President of the United States.” Apparently, Tlaib told a whopper, because, as it turns out, Democrats in general — her specifically — get away with breaking the law all the time.
A good case in point comes from a report that was issued by the House Ethics Committee which reveals that there is “substantial reason to believe” that Tlaib violated campaign finance law by using funds to cover personal expenditures. This is also a big violation of House Ethics rules.
Tlaib’s campaign spent a whopping $17,500 from her campaign funds in order to pay for personal expenses after she was elected to Congress. A series of text messages and emails between Tlaib and members of her staff show that during her campaign for office, she asked her campaign on multiple occasions to provide funds to pay for “car maintenance, child care and other necessities.”
According to The Heritage Foundation, the Michigan Democrat asked her campaign for $2,000 every two weeks. Between the dates of May 7 and Nov. 16, 2018, it complied with her request. On Dec. 1, 2018, it paid her $15,500. Over a period of seven months, the campaign paid the liberal Congresswoman a total of $45,000.
Federal campaign finance law strictly forbids the use of campaign money for personal use, with that phrase being defined rather broadly in the official documents from the Federal Election Commission. According to the FEC, personal use includes any “commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s campaign duties.” That most definitely would include things like car repair, child care, and “other necessities.”
House ethics rules also forbid representatives from using their campaign funds for personal use. The representative and their staff members are required to ensure their campaigns are in full compliance with the law. Candidates are allowed to draw a salary from their campaigns, however, the law places specific limits on it. For example, the salary can only be used to pay for work completed before the election. The salary is required to end the day that the candidate is either elected or pulls out of the race.
Tlaib was drawing a salary through the end of December, despite her campaign officially ending on Nov. 6, 2018. After the election was over, the Congresswoman drew $17,500. Her attorneys admit the payments were made after the campaign end date, however, they defended the big payday by saying that the work for it was done before the election. However, documents from her congressional campaign tell a different story.
"*" indicates required fields
A spreadsheet containing information about campaign salary payments shows that Tlaib’s campaign paid her $2,000 on Nov. 16 for work that was performed between Nov. 1 and 15. That huge $15,500 payment? For work completed between Nov. 16 and Dec. 31, well after the campaign ended.
One of the emails Tlaib sent her campaign staff reads, “I am just not going to make it through the campaign without a stipend. With the loss of a second income to lean back on, I am requesting $2,000 per two weeks, but not exceeding $12,000. The cost of living stipend is going towards much needed expenses due to campaigning that includes car maintenance, child care and other necessities. Please let me know if I can proceed.”
Another said, I am struggling financially right now. Fayez doesn’t pay child support (my fault for not pushing him) and Shane is not helping as much as I had hoped. Sugar Law Center is going to compile all my vacation and sick days to give me another full pay check, but I am sinking.”
She continued, “I budgeted myself, but I think underestimated having to handle rent and mortgage. The house finally got clearance to rent from the city. We had a ton of interest last month but I didn’t want to risk the attacks by proceeding without clearance. So I was thinking the campaign could loan me money, but Ryan said that the committee could actually pay me. I was thinking a one time payment of 5K. I can always borrow from the brothers, but I wanted to ask you both first.”
If Tlaib truly believes no one is above the law, why does she feel like she should be allowed to get away with these serious violations? Why is she not being held accountable for her actions? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.