Big Harry deal
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority leader responsible for keeping sound Republican legislation from the floor of the Senate between 2007 and 2015, for telling an intentionally damaging lie about Mitt Romney’s tax returns in the 2012 presidential race and for allegedly padding his own pockets while in Congress, says he needs the rules to be changed so his campaign fund can pay for a personal assistant for him once he leaves office.
The request, submitted to the Federal Election Commission, says the senator has “substantial post-retirement obligations arising from a 34-year tenure as a federal officeholder” whose responsibilities will not cease once he leaves Washington. So he needs to hire a full-time assistant to “review, organize, and arrange for transportation and storage of archival and office materials” and schedule appearances for him to discuss his time in office.
The FEC should turn him down flat on the request and verbally flog him for attempting to get an exemption to the rules for the use of campaign and leadership PAC funds.
The chairwoman of the commission argued in his favor, saying he unfortunately “probably had so much to do that he was unable to do some of the things that’s necessary.” Another member said correctly the change would be a bad precedent and would “fund the administrative overhead of being [any] former member of Congress.”