California Rep. Katie Porter (D.), who has worked to craft an image as an anti-corruption crusader, funneled over $200,000 in taxpayer dollars to campaign-like advertisements lauding her efforts to “Hold Oil Companies Accountable” and fight “corporate price gouging,” a move that ethics experts say could put her on the wrong side of campaign finance laws.
Porter’s office last year paid $227,000 in taxpayer dollars to a pair of Democratic firms for digital ads and mailers touting the Democrat’s record. Though technically not campaign ads, the ads used promotional language and photos that closely mirrored Porter’s campaign materials from the same period. Federal regulations require lawmakers maintain a firewall between their congressional offices and campaigns and prohibit repurposing campaign material for public business.
According to ethics watchdog Kendra Arnold, Porter’s ad spending may put her on the wrong side of these rules.
“The law absolutely prohibits members from using taxpayer dollars for political purposes,” Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, told the Washington Free Beacon. “Clearly running political-style campaign ads with official funds would fall under this rule.”
These allegations could hurt Porter as she runs to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D.). Porter has pitched herself to voters as a “warrior” who will “stand up to special interests” and hold Republicans “accountable for rigging our democracy.” The specter of unethical conduct could hinder Porter as she plunges into a contentious Democratic primary alongside more well-known candidates, including Reps. Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee.
Porter’s communications director Jordan Wong denied any office wrongdoing in a statement to the Free Beacon, noting that all public spending happened outside the “60-day black-out periods” before the election. Wong also insisted that Porter’s publicly funded materials were reviewed and approved by the…
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