You probably missed the news when it first broke in August, a few months ago.
Representative Rashida Tlaib of Minnesota, one of the members of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s highly publicised “Squad,” has been found guilty of embezzling money intended for her campaign.
On Friday the Democrat controlled US House Ethics Committee found that Tlaib violated federal law by using campaign funds for personal purposes.
https://twitter.com/AndrewKerrNC/status/1291769199585566720?s=20
However, the committee chose not to censure the first-term congressman and “squad” member, pointing out that, in some circumstances, it is permissible for a candidate to receive payment from their campaign.
It was discovered that ‘part’ of the pay she received following her election victory in 2018 was ‘inconsistent’ with the standards of federal elections legislation. However, it stated that she had made “good faith” attempts to abide by the law’s standards and that her mistakes were the result of “bad timing and not ill intent.”
The findings’ appendix contains Tlaib’s correspondence with her staff and a lawyer over the appropriateness of accepting a paycheck in the face of apparent pressing requirements following her full-time campaign resignation from a public interest law firm.
As a Member-Elect of Congress, Representative Tlaib had an even greater responsibility to make sure that any cash was spent carefully, even if the Committee acknowledges that the campaign climate can occasionally encourage rushed decision-making.
The Committee concluded that Representative Tlaib had not complied with all applicable laws and regulations regarding her acceptance of salary payments from her campaign, according to its review.
The report stated, “The Committee acknowledges that Representative Tlaib made efforts to ensure her compliance with the applicable requirements, but did not find evidence that she intended to unjustly enrich herself.”
With the understanding that Representative Tlaib may make smaller payments over the course of the year, the Committee decided that no sanction was warranted in light of this and that she should return the funds she wrongfully received to her campaign in full within a year of the report’s date.
The committee said that it “unanimously voted to adopt this Report and take no further action,” against her.
Additionally, the Committee will consider this matter closed after Tlaib has “satisfactorily completed the above steps.”
Repaying the $10,800 that she is alleged to have misused for personal expenses is one of the tasks that she must accomplish.
Before this decision, the representative from Minnesota was enjoying a successful week after easily defeating her primary opponent, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones.
The matter has been settled, according to her spokesperson Denzel McCampbell, and Rep. Tlaib “made a good faith effort to comply with a complex regulation and no sanction or penalty is merited.”