A USA Today analysis found at least 140 former members of Congress still have campaign accounts with nearly 50 million dollars in them. Nearly a third of those former lawmakers have been out of office at least five years. For example, the Federal Election Commission says former U.S. Representative Mark Foley of Palm Beach County who resigned in 2006 during a scandal, has more than a million dollars in his campaign account. Former Fort Myers Republican Congressman Trey Radel still has about 165,000 in his campaign account despite leaving Washington after pleading guilty to misdemeanor cocaine possession. We’ll talk about campaign finance laws today and how active campaign committees exist even though many politicians have not shown any plans to run for office again.
Guests:
Larry Noble, Senior Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center and former General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission.
Betty Parker, freelance politics writer. “Parker on Politics” appears in the Saturday editions of the News-Press.