Did Bob Barr's campaign spend money on clothes?

Posted by Doug Craig at 12/2/2008 2:04 PM
Categories: Bob Barr

Group: Other candidates used donor money on duds

Turns out Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wasn't the only candidate with donor-financed duds.

By SHARON THEIMER

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON —

Turns out Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wasn't the only candidate with donor-financed duds.

At least five candidates used campaign money for clothing, according to a complaint that a watchdog group filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics said the campaigns of Democratic Reps. Loretta Sanchez of California and Rob Andrews of New Jersey, Republican candidates Bill Dew of Utah and William Breazeale of North Carolina and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr each spent hundreds of dollars on clothing.

The group says that violates a ban on personal use of campaign money. Earlier, the group filed a complaint against the Republican National Committee for buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothing for Palin, the party's vice presidential nominee. The RNC and Palin have said they did nothing wrong and that all the apparel and accessories were being returned.

CREW's review of campaign finance reports found Dew's campaign spending $1,089 on clothing for him at Men's Wearhouse; Sanchez's campaign spending about $189 on "meeting clothing" for Sanchez and $145 on clothing for an aide; Breazeale's campaign purchasing $1,000 in clothing for Breazeale at a men's store in North Carolina; and $954 in clothing purchased by Andrews' campaign for a staffer who lost his luggage. Barr aide Andrew MacPherson received a $500 clothing allowance from Barr's campaign, a filing with the FEC shows.

Dew said he wasn't aware he had spent campaign money on clothing until he was contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press and checked with his family.

"I don't remember buying any clothing unless my daughter bought me some ties and charged it to the campaign," said Dew, a former home builder. "I used over $500,000 of my own money on this campaign. ... I don't see anything wrong with using my own money to use on personal things." Dew also accepted contributions to his campaign.

A Barr spokesman said the campaign did nothing wrong. "It was an appropriate expense associated with the campaign," said Russ Verney, Barr's campaign manager.

Spokespeople for Sanchez, Andrews and Breazeale did not immediately respond to AP's requests for comment. Sanchez and Andrews won re-election last month. Barr, Breazeale and Dew lost their races.

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