BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of Delaware Republican Christine O’Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect the identity of a client who has been questioned as part of the probe. The case, which has been assigned to two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware, has not been brought before a grand jury.
Matt Moran, O‘Donnell’s former campaign manager, did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions from The AP. He said earlier this month that the campaign had not been contacted about any investigation and criticized what he called “lies and false-attack rumors.”
The U.S. Attorney‘s office has confirmed that it is reviewing a complaint about O’Donnell’s campaign spending filed by a watchdog group, but officials in the office and the FBI declined to say whether a criminal investigation was underway.
O’Donnell, who set a state record by raising more than $7.3 million in a tea party-fueled campaign this year, has long been dogged by questions about her finances.
At least two former campaign workers have alleged that she routinely used political contributions to pay her personal expenses in recent years as she ran for the Senate three consecutive times, starting in 2006. The Washington-based watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission making similar allegations and asked Delaware’s federal prosecutor to investigate.
O‘Donnell’s campaign has denied wrongdoing, but acknowledged she had paid part of her rent at times with campaign money, arguing that her house doubled as a campaign headquarters.
Federal law prohibits candidates from spending campaign money for personal benefit. FEC rules say this prohibition applies to the use of campaign money for a candidate’s mortgage or rent “even if part of the residence is being used by the campaign,” although O‘Donnell’s campaign maintained that it was told otherwise by someone at the agency.
O‘Donnell drew national attention in September when she pulled off one of the primary election season’s biggest upsets by beating moderate Republican Rep. Mike Castle for the GOP Senate nomination. She lost badly in November to Democrat Chris Coons.
One former O’Donnell staffer, Kristin Murray, recorded an automated phone call for the Delaware Republican Party just before the primary, accusing O’Donnell of “living on campaign donations — using them for rent and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt.”
Another former aide, David Keegan, said he became concerned about O‘Donnell’s 2008 campaign finances as she fell behind on bills and had no apparent source of income besides political contributions. He submitted an affidavit to CREW alleging that she used campaign money to cover meals, gas, a bowling outing, and rent to a landlord, Brent Vasher.
Vasher, a nephew of Keegan’s and a one-time boyfriend of O’Donnell, declined comment when asked by The AP if he had been contacted by authorities. Vasher bought O‘Donnell’s house in 2008 after she was served with a foreclosure notice, then charged her rent to stay there, according to CREW’s complaint.
In a message sent last week to The AP, Keegan said he had not been questioned as part of a criminal investigation, and that he considers himself only a “catalyst” in a case in which several people must be questioned to scrutinize O‘Donnell’s accounting practices and alleged misuse of campaign funds.
During her three failed Senate bids, O’Donnell had numerous campaign treasurers, many of who left after serving brief stints. After losing two treasurers in 2009, she named herself treasurer until this past summer. Another short-term treasurer took over in August and resigned less than two months later, when Moran added the treasurer’s role to his campaign manager responsibilities.
Democrat Charles Oberly III, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, and his predecessor, David Weiss, did not immediately return messages Wednesday seeking comment. Oberly was sworn in Tuesday as Weiss’ successor.
Kim Reeves, a spokeswoman for the office, reiterated Wednesday that the office was reviewing the CREW complaint. She would not confirm the existence of a criminal probe.
Rich Wolf, a spokesman for the Baltimore office of the FBI, said he could neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation.
Murray, the former aide who recorded the automated message, also said she had not been contacted about the investigation.
___
Barakat reported from McLean, Va. Associated Press writers Ben Evans in Washington and Randall Chase in Dover, Del., contributed to this story.
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Comments (75)
Thighmaster
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:42pmSilly rabbit, first you get elected then you get all those illegal perks in exchange for a slap on the wrist.
Report Post »Endstatism
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:15pmThis is clearly a politically motivated investigation. The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a front for a Soros funded progressive group Democracy Alliance. I`m sure that they are working glove and hand with the Obama administration. You would think that the left would leave ODonnell alone since she got beaten badly in the election. But the progressive movement in America act much like the Nazi SA politically. They are determined to destroy their opposition and anyone who is percieved as a potential threat to the progressive agenda.
Report Post »PatriotDaze
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:42pmHer OWN staff members have accused her of embezzling funds donated to her campaign, and over a period of time. Mr. Endstatism, exactly what type of government are you in favor of if you don’t believe that this warrants inquiry?
Report Post »PatriotDaze
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:53pmMr. Endstatism,
O‘Donnell’s OWN staff members accused her of embezzling campaign donations over a period of time. They did so publicly during the primaries, and her Republican opponents floated the accusations to the media. Is everyone on the Soros payroll. ?
If you are opposed to investigating politicians publicly accused of embezzlement, might I inquire about what type of candidate you’re interested in voting for?
Report Post »GoingBeck
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:51pmInvestigate one, investigate all. What’s fair is fair.
Report Post »Eliminate the appearance of a witch hunt.
justice
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:47pmIf she was a Dem-Wit would they be looking into her. If she did let her go with a warning, lets say like Charlie Rangell, and Maxine Walters and tax cheat man himself Githner.
Report Post »PatriotDaze
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:43pm@HeavyDuty:
Greetings HeavyDuty. At least 2 of her former employees made the accusation. It isn’t some mystery group that cooked this stuff up. By the way CREW has filed complaints against politicians on both sides of the aisle. Panthers, Reid et al, notwithstanding, are you suggesting that when politicians are accused of using campaign contributions to pay their rent it shouldn’t be investigated?
By the way, Rangle hasn’t been accused of committing a crime. Breaking the house ethics rules…yes. Committing a felony….no. I hope Christine is innocent, but if they find she actually did what her staff accuses her of, that is far more serious than an ethics violation. That’s why the FBI, and not an ethics committee is conducting the investigation.
Report Post »broker0101
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:04pmPATRIOTAZZPLUG: Charlie wasn’t accused of committing a felony, huh? Tax evasion is only NOT a felony when it is gift wrapped in a House investigation for “Violating House Rules”. Those same rules exist outside the House and violations in those cases are, in fact, a felony. Stop picking on the weak-minded-Beck-Bot-rubes on the Blaze and go back to your Daily Kos Circle-Jerk.
Report Post »PatriotDaze
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:39pmHiya Mr. Broker. Your pithy and well crafted comment actually confirmed my point in a twisted, circuitous manner. Felony charges have not been brought against Rangle. That is not to say that they won’t be filed, and I made no claim to that effect or defense of his wrongdoing.
That said, your comments re: the “weak-minded-Beck-Bot-rubes on the Blaze“ and ”Daily KOS Circle Jerk” represent your best stuff to date, by far.
Report Post »Oatsy
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:17pmSorry. Typos and misspellings just jump out at me sometimes.
Report Post »beebacksoon
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:15pmFEDS = Eric Holder
Report Post »Like ALL of Obama’s appointees…he is not for We The People. He is Obama’s #2 “tough guy” (now that Rahm isn’t around).
ChiefGeorge
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:12pmI really hope this isn’t true as it was the first time that I ever helped a candidate with a cash donation.
Report Post »PaganGoddess
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:40pmHey, don’t feel bad, she was never going to win. At least you helped her pay her reny! She used jer doners like privatly funded welfare.
Report Post »Oatsy
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:02pmOops. Whose misspelling in the headline? “Feds are ‘invesitaging’ Christine O’Donnell”.
Report Post »C.C.D.
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:10pmHad to throw the Libs. a bone, something on the page to talk about, Hey! wait a minute…OATSY are you? lol
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:01pmThat’s pretty good. But they have never reopened the investigation against the Black Panthers now have they. Seems to me that is a little lopsided. I thought we could see the accusers. Guess not. They have to hide behind some legal name. But wouldn’t it be nice to find out who is behind this investigation. I would imagine that if most of the government was investigated half of them would be censored or put in jail. Especially Reid, Peeloosii, and Obama. You just have to wonder how much he is worth now.
Report Post »psst
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:57pmWhy are they investigating her?
Report Post »Just because she bought the condo next door to ol’ Charlie down in the DR, rented it and did not pay the taxes on the income is no excuse for going after her.
Never fear Christine. If you are guilty all they will do is say “naughty-naughty”
What the hell else can they do, throw you out of Congress. Hell!! They would have to throw out 95% of congresspersons.
Christine, here’s the best excuse if they want to throw you in jail. Tell them you work for Tim Geithner the SecTreas elf and you moon-light as the limo driver for Tom Daschle.
As for all the campaign loot. tell them it was delivered in brown bags by foreign communist chinese agents Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung and that it belongs to you just like it belonged to bilLIe.
BTW. Does anyone remember all those campaign loot for kilLIEry that came from thousands of illegal Chinese cooks and dishwashers in SanFranFreako. They all lived at the same address.
They must have had to take a number to take a dump. And as instructed by Mz Sheryl Crow, use one square to save mother earth.
I would hate to have 999 wanna-be dumpsters in line in front of me.
DagneyT
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:40pmYou have to be IN congress to be thrown out. Get out of momma’s basement and figure it out.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:57pmI wonder who started the investigation, was it Sorass, or Peeloosii, or Hilary. You can bet it was a Demo. that raised the question. Well no more than they did to Rangel she shouldn’t have much to worry about.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:53pm“watch dog group” I wonder if it is tied to Spooky Dude somehow.
Report Post »C.C.D.
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:57pmSpooky Dude, that’s funny. That guy has to be ready to kick the bucket, isn’t he like a 149 years old now?
Report Post »Ray from Maple
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:50pmI’m not a crook; I’m you.
Report Post »C.C.D.
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:44pmThe Feds could make the biggest crime bust in the history of America, and they would never have to leave the building….
Report Post »beebacksoon
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:20pmAmen!
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:43pmSomething smells really fishy, both from her handling of money, and from the complaints. I’m always suspicious of ex-boyfriends. Look at Bristol’s baby daddy, for Heaven’s sake!
Report Post »PaganGoddess
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:42pmGasp! A crooked politician? Say it aint so!
Report Post »C.C.D.
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:54pmYeah, I like when they get caught lying, cheating, and stealing they say; Oh, “that’s just politics”
Report Post »eteme
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:40pmWHO CARES!! She lost.. what are you going to do take he Sen. position away? While your, wasting more tax payers money, they should investigate ALL losing candidates and how they spent their money, my hunch is that one of the major reasons why some didn’t win is mismanagement of campaign money…gee now wonder why they lost??
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:36pmShe‘s so damn cute I’d vote for her just to see her on the news.
Report Post »spendthrift
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:43pm2nd that….
Report Post »knotaclu
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:51pmcute is only skin deep, but a witch does to the bone….
Report Post »VermontPatriot
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:37pmShe made way more sense than the Bearded Marxist.
Report Post »El Paco
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:34pmWait wait wait…. If they’re targeting her…. why aren’t they targeting EVERYONE who has done this?? I have no “inside stories” but I‘d be willing to wager pennies on the fact that there’s more criminals in this arena than THE WITCH!!!
Report Post »- She turned me into a newt!!
cessna152
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:42pmWhat about Bernanke and the fed monetizing the debt? Printing money at will and giving it to unio thugs? What about unconstitutional laws this administration continues with?
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:49pmI’m still waiting for a recount in Alaska …..
Report Post »TruthTalker
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:29pmThe Dems are coming after her.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:29pmShe must be honest since they are going after her
Report Post »PaganGoddess
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:36pmHa,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!!!!!!
Report Post »PaganGoddess
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:39pmLmao!
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:51pmTiny Tim didn’t pay his taxes and now he is in charge
Report Post »of the IRS
LMAO hahahah
PaganGoddess
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:33pmI like you, you’re silly.
Report Post »KenInIL
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 8:09pmI’m surprised the Feds have time. After all don‘t they need to track down all of BHO’s multiple contributions from “Abcdefg”, “Qwerty”, “asdfgh”, etc. and determine if they are American citizens and eligible to make campaign contributions? I think all these folks live at 123 Main, Somewhere, IL.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:28pmAnother Witch hunt ?
Report Post »CamTheConservative
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 11:44pmDude, a Hitler avatar…? I really want to send my liberal friends links to this site. The chatter on the boards is already pretty colorful, and seeing someone with a picture of Hitler in their profile doesn’t exactly help the ole public image… I don’t want to be rude, but using the conspiracy theories you routinely link to it is not a big jump to suggest you could could be a plant. If you really want to go down the rabit hole, it is AWFULLY coincidental that a poster with a Hitler picture works so hard to be ALL OVER this site.
Just sayin’…
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:26pmQuick! get a lid on “that woman”
Report Post »knotaclu
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:24pmhey dag nabbit, I am not a witch….
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:31pmthey never sent the Feds after Hillary
Report Post »http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6643.html
Cemoto78
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:32pmShe needs to contact Charlie Rengal or Maxine Waters quick and find out how to do this type of stuff without really ever being held accountable.
cessna152
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:40pmI guess griping about all the tax cheats in the obama administration is “fear mongering”. Too much power which can not go on any longer
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 6:57pmMartial Law
By way of executive proclamation, President Obama has secured for himself the power to declare martial law in the event of a national “emergency,” real or contrived, and without the accountability typically required by the Posse Comitatus Act and the National Emergencies Act of 1976.
This is the legacy of the “conservative” Bush administration. National emergencies have now been transformed into power-grabbing devices thanks to the virtually unnoticed National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD) 51.
NSPD 51 empowers the president to co-opt all state and local government authority in the event that he declares a national emergency. This is a self-declared power not subjugated to the National Emergencies Act of 1976 as in previous directives.
President Obama quickly went beyond NSPD 51, signing an order creating a “Council of Governors” who would be put in charge of declaring martial law. The directive is in direct violation of Posse Comitatus and the Insurrection Act. This “Council of Governors” answers only to President Obama.
In October of last year, President Obama declared a national emergency in the midst of the much-hyped swine flu crisis. This declaration was largely overlooked. By combining his October declaration with the provisions of NSPD 51, President Obama can now be considered virtually uninhibited by Congress and free to flip the switch at any moment.
Report Post »http://www.prisonplanet.com/feed-me-obama-feed-me-the-plan-for-food-dependency.html
Curator_JDR
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:07pmLets enact a law that says NO politician can keep their campaign war chest when they leave office. This is the fox investigating the hen house.
Why don’t we ridicule the Progressives into “submission”? They can’t stand being laughed at.
New. A LOL Animated Short Feature Film “A Not So Grimm Fairy Tale” … Politically Incorrect Satire featuring “Bearah Sailin” and her grizzly bear clan taking back America from the Progressive clan of Sorge Goros & Nancy Poles-i-don’t-see
http://www.marcrubin.com/hairmerica.ivnu
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:11pmI hope they are investigating Soros, SEIU, ACORN, the casino unions in NV, the cheats in Alaska, the Black Panthers, etc. If they are looking for a witch hunt (pun intended) they need to look closer to home and then it will legitimize their investigation of Christine O’Donnell. One complaint and they are all over her, a multitude of complaints about other candidates and they are ignored. Anyone besides me see a double standard yet again?
Ezekiel38
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:19pmAP: Feds Invesitaging Christine O‘Donnell’s Campaign Spending
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:26pmLet’s investigate the TSA trolls and find out who is guilty.
This is not the first time we have been trolled by individuals connected to the TSA. Someone posted a personal attack on me from an IP belonging to mitre,org, a corporation whose core competency is securing federal government contracts, including DHS and TSA ones. Any effective TSA resistance threatens not only the TSA itself but also the bureaucrats who got us to this point and the corporations who are getting paid for the technology.”
http://www.prisonplanet.com/obscene-threatening-comments-posted-at-anti-tsa-website-traced-to-homeland-security-servers.html
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:37pmCharles Rangel and Maxine Waters…..anyone see the FBI?
Report Post »guyperram
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:54pmHow come they didn’t investigate the Obama Campaign? Oh yea, he didn’t almost beat one of their marxist cronies, since he is the “head” marxist puppet.
Report Post »Mrs. Cemoto78
Posted on December 29, 2010 at 7:58pmTower7 why would someone think your a witch ?
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 12:17am@FEMABOY
You are a professional troll. All you do is copy and paste text from your conspiracy sites into unrelated topics here. It’s pretty rich seeing you call somebody else a troll lol.
Report Post »101
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 12:21am.
December 29, 2010. Wilmington, DE: Christine O‘Donnell’s campaign released the following statement in response to investigation rumors and states that Democrat insiders warned her that the “Establishment” would use phony investigations to end her political career;
Campaign Manager Matt Moran responded to the rumor of a criminal investigation, “We have heard absolutely nothing other than the same unsubstantiated allegations and rumors that have been circulating in the press for months. “If anything does materialize from this rumor, we will continue to fully cooperate as we have made every attempt to ensure we are in compliance with all rules and regulations. The politically motivated charge was all started by false accusations by Christine’s political opponents, and ratcheted up by former Biden staffer Melanie Sloan and CREW with their false claims. Let us be clear: there was no impermissible use of campaign funds. Period. This is just an ongoing effort by the George Soros-funded CREW and other liberal groups and individuals to intimidate and threaten Christine, even after the election.”
Christine O’Donnell continued, “Since anonymous sources are being taken seriously, please allow me to share some tips I‘ve received and keep the tipsters’ identities anonymous. We’ve been warned by multiple high-ranking Democrat insiders that the Delaware Democrat and Republican political establishment is jointly planning to pull out all the stops to ensure I would never again upset the apple cart. Specifically they told me the plan was to crush me with investigations, lawsuits and false accusations so that my political reputation would become so toxic no one would ever get behind me. I was warned by numerous sources that the DE political establishment is going to use every resource available to them. So given that the King of the Delaware Political Establishment just so happens to be the Vice President of the most liberal Presidential administration in U.S. history, it is no surprise that misuse and abuse of the FBI would not be off the table. And further connecting the dots, do you think it is just a coincidence that Melanie Sloan was a senior Biden staffer just before she joined CREW and filed her complaint against me?!
“I have faith that our supporters and the general public will see right through these thug tactics. This is simply an Establishment trick to stop the anti-establishment Tea Party movement in its tracks. Heck, the Presidency is at stake in 2012.”
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on December 30, 2010 at 7:02amLike the feds don’t have anything better to do!
Report Post »