By Howard Foster -
Congressman Aaron Schock will leave office with over $3 million in campaign contributions and personal assets. The scandal that brought him down was about his use of taxpayer money for illegal purposes such as decorating his office, bringing a non-staffer on a foreign trip and overbilling for mileage reimbursements.
But what of the many people, including me, who gave money to his campaign committee?
We thought he was honest and had a bright future. We would not have supported him had we known he regularly violated House rules. In light of the situation, he should not convert his campaign funds to any other purpose, such as his legal defense. For that he should have to pay out of his own pocket. Donors should get their money back on some sort of percentage basis, such as in a bankruptcy proceeding.
This is particularly problematic because Mr. Schock was such an aggressive fundraiser. He also had a PAC for which he raised and spent large sums of money, all on his claim to be a fresh face in the Illinois Republican party. When questions were raised about the spending, he dismissed them as being groundless, said he followed all applicable rules, and at the end, dismissed people who raised them as “haters.”
He showed a remarkable disdain for his institution’s rules. They seemed not to apply to him because he was this fresh face with the bright future. Those of us who were taken in should turn to the courts to get restitution if he won’t return our money. The Schock operation was predicated upon fraud, and now that he’s been exposed, he should have to make amends voluntarily or involuntarily through a class action lawsuit.
