Matt Gaetz Has Spent $85,626 Of Campaign Contributions on Legal Fees Since Last July

[DonViejo]

By Sarah Rumpf Apr 16th, 2021, 1:30 pm

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been a prolific fundraiser, bringing in over $1.8 million in campaign contributions in the first quarter of 2021 and ending the reporting period with over $2 million cash in hand. That’s good news for the embattled congressman, because he’s also racked up nearly $90,000 in legal bills since last summer — and questions are being raised about whether those were proper expenditures.

Gaetz has spent $85,626 from his campaign account on legal fees since July 2020, as first reported by NBCLX reporter Noah Pransky. The campaign finance reports do not disclose the purpose of the legal fees, but the main law firm listed, Venable, LLP is a Washington-based firm that specializes in Congressional investigations. From 2016 to 2019, Gaetz spent only $9,113 on legal fees, according to his campaign finance reports for that period.

As Pransky notes, the timing of the increase in legal fees appears to coincide with events in the unfolding scandal swirling around Gaetz and several of his friends.

Gaetz’s first payments to Venable, LLP came just weeks after former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was first indicted. The federal indictment against Greenberg has been amended four times so far and includes 33 separate counts. Greenberg has been widely reported to be cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a plea deal to be announced in the coming weeks.

more
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/matt-gaetz-has-spent-85626-of-campaign-contributions-on-legal-fees-since-last-july/

[soothsayer]

1. Needs more legal fees