A legal defense fund set up by a Republican congressman to pay for expenses related to an ethics probe accepted a $5,000 donation from the same company that had caused the investigation to be launched.
Republican Rep. Alex Mooney (WV) is under investigation over allegations he accepted a week-long paid vacation for his family to Aruba from a direct mail company his campaign began paying for services in 2020. The vacation cost about $10,000, with much of the bill allegedly being picked up by the company.
According to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, Mooney's acceptance of the vacation from HSP Direct is part of an ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee. He told the newspaper the cost has now been fully reimbursed.
Investigators think that the $10,000 number may be lower than what was actually spent on the vacation, because it didn't factor in drinks and food for Mooney's family. Mooney repaid $1,637.75 for part of the cost of the flight to Aruba, which was $3,300, according to the report.
The company has given Mooney's campaign $17,000 from its political action committee since he took office in 2015, the News and Sentinel reported. The company's chairman and his wife also gave $28,000 to Mooney's campaign since 2016.
While Mooney was under investigation, the Ethics Committee authorized that he could set up a legal defense fund. More than $136,000 was transferred to that fund, with those funds used to reimburse Mooney's campaign account, the report stated.
Among the donations to the defense fund was one made by the same mail company, HSP Direct.
The ethics committee also uncovered that HSP Direct partner and chairman owns a Capitol Hill house which Mooney has been using for campaign purposes, events and even for his family, according to the report.
ALSO READ: Let fear be your greatest motivator in 2024
"Mooney’s legal defense fund has raised $64,000 between Jan. 1, 2022, and June 30 of this year, spending $12,190, including two $5,000 reimbursements paid to the Mooney campaign," the report explained.
“Congressman Mooney is complying with all the required rules and disclosures for his legal defense fund,” the report cited Mooney spokesperson Ryan Kelly saying in a statement.
The ethics report says that Mooney refused to cooperate with questions about the use of the house, the newspaper reported.
After announcing his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Mooney has spent nearly $21,000 on services from HSP Direct.
Read the full report at The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
