O'Donnell: Using Campaign Funds on Rent Is Fine

Candidate blames 'liberal front group' for ethics complaint
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 22, 2010 4:50 AM CDT
Updated Sep 22, 2010 6:00 AM CDT
O'Donnell: Using Campaign Funds on Rent is Fine
Christine O'Donnell listens during a voters' forum in Wilmington, Delaware last week. seat.   (Getty Images)

Christine O'Donnell believes using campaign funds to pay rent on her home is "ethical." She made the comment in response to complaints filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is charging that she treated campaign funds like a personal ATM. The complaint from CREW, supported by a sworn statement from the candidate's former finance consultant, alleges that O'Donnell spent more than $20,000 in campaign funds to pay for rent, travel, and other personal expenses, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

O'Donnell has admitted using campaign funds to pay rent on her home, saying it doubled as campaign headquarters, but CREW says she had no active campaign during the time in question. O'Donnell says the complaint is baseless. "I am confident that we have been ethical," she said. "Why are you listening to a liberal organization in the first place?" she asked CNN when questioned. A CREW spokesman says the organization is firmly non-partisan, stressing that it has pursued complaints against Charlie Rangel and other Democrats. Click here for more on O'Donnell.
(More Christine O'Donnell stories.)

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