Ex-senator fined for misusing campaign funds

A U.S. district judge ruled Tuesday that former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) must pay more than $240,000 for improperly using campaign funds in an effort to withdraw a guilty plea relating to a 2007 sex sting.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Craig to pay $242,535 to the Treasury Department, including $197,535 of campaign funds unlawfully used to pay for personal legal fees and a $45,000 fine.

{mosads}Berman ruled Craig, his campaign committee and former campaign committee treasurer violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by using campaign funds to pay for the legal fees, “a personal matter that was not connected to the senator’s duties as an officeholder.”

Craig, who served as a U.S. senator from 1991-2009, was arrested at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June 2007 and charged with disorderly conduct and interference with privacy after a sting operation to crack down on men soliciting sex in public restrooms. 

On Sept. 1, 2007, Craig said he would resign, while the Senate Ethics Committee launched an inquiry into the incident. He later said he would not run for reelection, allowing him to finish his term in 2009.

Craig denied soliciting sex and pled guilty to disorderly conduct, which he later unsuccessfully tried to withdraw. His final appeal was denied in December 2008.

The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit in June 2012 alleging paying the legal fees meant Craig’s committee used campaign funds for personal use. 

The FEC later moved to have Craig repay $216,984 spent on law firms Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan LLP, and Kelly & Jacobson, as well as $140,000 in civil penalties against Craig and his committee.

The court did a “line-by-line analysis” to reach the final $242,535 amount, according to the ruling.