Scott Pruitt’s Lobbyist Landlord Charged Twice As Much to Another GOP Lawmaker
By: Lachlan Markay, Daily Beast, April 26, 2018
The lobbyist-owned condo where Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt stayed at a steep discount is now causing political headaches for another Republican lawmaker.
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), admitted to federal regulators on Thursday that he failed to disclose expenses associated with political fundraisers held at the same townhouse owned Pruitt stayed for just $50 a night.
Crapo’s leadership PAC told the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday that it had reimbursed a company owned by Vicki Hart, the wife of energy lobbyist and Pruitt donor J. Steven Hart, for three fundraising events held at their Capitol Hill rowhouse.
The reimbursement came after a watchdog group filed a complaint with the FEC last week alleging that Crapo’s fundraising events constituted illegal in-kind contributions to Crapo’s campaign by the LLC that technically owns the house. Corporations are legally barred from contributing to federal political campaigns.