John,

Last month, CREW filed an FEC complaint against Senator Kyrsten Sinema for apparently using her campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.

The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits political campaigns from spending campaign funds for personal use if the expenses “would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign.”

Sinema announced she would not run for reelection on March 5. Since then she has spent:

• $3,100 in campaign funds on a trip to Italy,
• $7,900 in campaign funds on a trip to Boston during the Boston Marathon,
• $15,000 in campaign funds during trips to Aspen and Silicon Valley,
• and $81,000 in campaign funds for trips to the UK, France, and other foreign countries.

She even paid $2,800 to stay in a castle in France.

Since these expenses occurred after Sinema announced she was leaving Congress, it seems clear that these were personal expenses, paid for out of Sinema’s campaign account. You can read all about the end of her time in office and our complaint in the Arizona Republic and the Intercept.

The law is crystal clear that this isn’t allowed, and the law applies to you whether it’s your first week in office or your last.

That’s why we filed this complaint, even though Sinema’s time in office has come to an end.

We’re not in the business of letting politicians off the hook when they cross ethical red lines, whether they’re still in office or not.

Thank you,

Robert Maguire
Vice President for Research and Data
CREW