Indiana Republican caught in lie that campaign accountant 'vanished' after senator's illegal transaction

Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican, was caught in a lie about a campaign accountant he said screwed up his campaign finance filings and disappeared. The Daily Beast said they found the man in minutes.

Braun is accused of illegally loaning his campaign millions of dollars, which he transferred from his auto parts business, Meyer Distributing. The Associated Press has already drawn attention to Braun's business after the senator lied his parts were made in America, but "Made in China" was found stamped on them.

That same election season, the embattled Braun transferred his campaign $1.5 million from the company, which is illegal. Worse, this isn't the first time. In total, they found allegations that Braun forked over $8.5 million in "apparent prohibited loans" to his 2018 campaign. The company could have made a donation to a super PAC or another political group, but political candidates can only accept donations from individuals, even loans.

Now the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), which is sifting through its backlog of cases, is investigating the matter, only Braun's lies appear to be catching up with him.

The FEC released its audit of Braun's campaign committee this week, citing the reporting errors and the improper loans it says Braun used to finance his campaign. Braun told the committee that he couldn't answer any questions about it because the former treasurer, the person who puts their name on campaign filings, "vanished."

Treasurer, Travis Kabrick, "was, at least ostensibly, an experienced FEC compliance professional who had worked for many federal candidate committees over many years." The Braun filing claimed that they've spent three years, but can't manage to find him.

"We haven't been able to obtain all the documents truly needed to address all findings," said Braun lawyer Chris Gober. The campaign even went so far as to ask the FEC to subpoena Kabrick.

The problem with the claim is that the Daily Beast found the guy in just minutes, citing three public social media accounts.

"An hour before the hearing, The Daily Beast had confirmed Kabrick's current job in a phone call with his employer, as well as his location, contact information, and three social media accounts," said the story.

"His mother said in a phone call that she would pass along a request for comment," the report said.

There were millions of dollars of incorrectly reported donations and disbursements and reporting errors for another $ 2 million in contributions. There were donations that exceeded the federal limit, a misstep that even a campaign manager would know. The VP of litigation at the campaign watchdog group Common Cause, Paul S. Ryan, not the former Speaker, explained that it's normal for candidates to loan campaigns money. Typically, however, they go to a bank, put up collateral and get the money. Braun took another route.

Read the full report at the Daily Beast.