POLITICO is reporting today that Arizona Republican Schweikert runs up
legal bills in House ethics probe:
Arizona Rep. David Schweikert is
running up big legal bills as the House Ethics Committee investigates the
Arizona Republican's dealings with his former top aide and other employees.
Schweikert owes more than
$229,000 to law firms, according to his just-released campaign filings. And
that's on top of the tens of thousands of dollars he has already paid his
defense team during the ethics probe.
In fact, Schweikert's
legal debts nearly equal the cash on hand his reelection committee reported as
of March 30, according to his filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Schweiker's legal debts were more than $229,000, while the reelection campaign
had slightly less than $241,000 in the bank. Overall debt by Schweikert's
reelection committee amounted to more than $251,000, meaning Schweikert's
campaign owes more than it has on hand.
Most of Schweikert's legal
debt is owed to the firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC, which
specializes in campaign finance regulations, among other areas. Schweikert owes
that firm more than $206,000, the FEC reports show.
Schweikert's office did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schweikert reported
raising just under $167,000 in 2019's first quarter, an anemic amount for a
veteran lawmaker who holds a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means
Committee. Roughly 40 percent of that total came from corporate PACs, according
to the new FEC filing. Schweikert was first elected in 2010.
The House Ethics Committee
— following an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, the
independent ethics watchdog — launched a formal probe last year into
allegations that Schweikert misspent official funds and received illegal
campaign contributions from his former chief of staff, Oliver Schwab, and other
employees, according to a statement from the panel. Read
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