Ted Cruz hit with multiple complaints for ‘illegally’ using campaign funds to shill his book

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is facing ethical and legal investigations over his controversial decision to use campaign funds to hype his new book.

On Tuesday, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed two complaints over Cruz personally profiting from the scheme.

"Cruz receives royalties on book sales, so using campaign funds to promote the book violates the ban on using campaign money for personal gain," the good government group explained.

Cruz received a $400,000 advance and receives 15% royalties on hardcover sales. His campaign, Ted Cruz for Senate, spent $18,000 on Facebook ads promoting book sales.

"Because Cruz receives royalties from book sales, his campaign crossed a legal line by spending donor funds on Facebook ads promoting sales of that book," CLC's Brendan Fischer explained.

And the full extent of the scheme is not yet known.

"We don't know how extensive these violations might be because any similar ads that Cruz may have run on platforms other than Facebook or Google are not publicly available," Fischer explained.

One of the complaints was filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The other complaint was filed with the Senate Ethics Committee.