When representing a D+ 900 district, you can get away with murder. These deep blue Democratic districts allow their representatives to ride a gravy train like no other. And yes, the same goes for some Republicans too. Yet, the coastal elites or the city warlords we used to call mayors are the most daring (and shameless) with some of their schemes. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is probably the biggest offender regarding growing her family's wealth on insider information. We all know if she weren't House Speaker, she would be under the microscope for SEC issues. And then, there are Democrats using campaign cash to pay family members, like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who doled out some $15,000 to her daughter (via Daily Caller):
Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters paid her daughter over $15,000 with campaign funds during the most recent quarter, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) numbers reviewed by the Daily Caller.
The latest FEC records show Waters is still paying her daughter Karen Waters a total of $16,500 during Q2 from April 1 through June 30. The records became available July 15. The purpose of the payments on the FEC records says “Slate Mailer Management Fee.”
Waters has been paying her daughter with campaign funds for years. In 2018, the Daily Caller News Foundation broke the news that Waters was paying her daughter more than $100,000 in campaign funds during that election cycle.
It must be nice to be part of this ring. It's nowhere near Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s heist, where the former congressman spent close to a million dollars on personal items. Jackson resigned over the scandal in 2012, which eventually landed him a 30-month jail sentence on a slew of federal charges.
Yet, this sort of behavior fuels neo-populism, the Tea Party, and helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election. DC is a snake pit. People see that now more than ever on both sides, so why not elect people way outside the norm to take a stab at making law. The current crop does nothing but gives cash to family members, among other things.
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