Living Large Off Unspent Campaign Funds

Mark Foley was forced out of Congress more than a decade ago for sexual impropriety, but he was still able to tap his congressional campaign fund to dine on the Palm Beach social circuit four times in early 2017, ending with a $450 luncheon at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches. Four years after he left office, former Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning paid his daughter $94,800 from campaign money. They are not alone. In their political afterlife, former politicians and their staffers are hoarding unspent campaign donations for years and using them to finance their lifestyles, advance new careers and pay family members.