Rep. Schock may have violated flight rules

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) may have taken unauthorized flights with taxpayer and campaign money, according to a report in USA Today.

Schock spent more than $13,000 through both his office account and his political committee with Lobair LLC, a company that comprises a single airplane owned by a man who lives in Schock’s district. That plane is reportedly not registered as a commercial aircraft.

{mosads}It’s illegal for lawmakers and candidates to use noncommercial aircraft for either official or campaign business.

The Illinois lawmaker also flew in a helicopter owned by a man in his district in 2013. While there are photos of this flight, the paper could not find proof that Schock paid for it with his campaign account or his House account.

Neither Schock’s office nor the House Ethics Committee commented on whether Schock received permission to take these flights, which would typically be a violation of spending rules.

This is the latest spending flap for one of the most prolific fundraisers in the House. Earlier in February, The Washington Post detailed his lavish Capitol office redecorating, complete with gold trimmings and arrangements of pheasant feathers.

That sparked an ethics complaint into whether Schock used campaign money to pay for the office redesign, as the decorator told the Post that she offered her services for free.

Schock has since said he’d pay for the work once he received a bill.