Beto O’Rourke is one of the top contenders for the Democrat presidential primary.
Some pundits think he could even beat Donald Trump.
But that could go out the window after he was accused of doing something illegal with his campaign money.
A Southern state just took the top spot in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries
Dem rep, in first video since hit-and-run crash, opens up about wreck
Kentucky middle school teacher accused of crossing the line with student, arrested under new anti-grooming law
North Dakota mom stabs her 2 children to death in ‘horrific’ killing that left cops traumatized: officials
Trump says Will Scharf will replace David Warrington as White House counsel in September
Bernie Sanders demands Democrats ban super PACs from primaries, blasts AIPAC, ‘corrupt system’
Trump doubles down on reflecting pool vandalism allegations, cites new witness account
AOC documents egg-freezing journey, takes aim at Trump admin over women’s reproductive choices
Teen burglary ring linked to nearly 80 Bay Area break-ins dismantled after months-long investigation: PD
Indian national accused of Arizona girlfriend’s murder entered US on student visa: federal sources
Spencer Pratt: Communists aren’t just ‘evil’ they’re ’embarrassingly cringe’
Police nab ‘armed and dangerous’ New York fugitive suspected of killing father and torching home
NORAD fighter jets intercept 2 aircraft near Trump’s golf club, 3rd plane delays his NJ departure
AOC freezes her eggs: ‘I think it’s bada**’
RNC chair says Talarico’s GOP crossover hopes are a ‘pipe dream’: ‘Nobody is going to follow him’
Reporters are pouring through Beto O’Rourke’s first quarter fundraising report.
And The Daily Caller noticed something strange.
O’Rourke’s campaign paid over $100,000 to a web development company that was owned by his wife.
The Daily Caller reports:
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke paid roughly $110,000 in campaign funds to a web development company while either he or his wife owned it, public records show.
Beto for Texas paid Stanton Street Technology Group $58,544 during the 2011-12 election cycle, $39,060 during the 2013-14 cycle, $9,290 in the 2015-16 cycle and $32,778 during the 2017-18 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Either O’Rourke or his wife owned Stanton Street — a small web development firm that O’Rourke founded in 1998 — during the vast majority of those payments. Such payments are legal, so long as the campaign is charged for the actual cost of the services, but ethics watchdogs have criticized the practice as a form of self-dealing.
O’Rourke’s wife, Amy Sanders O’Rourke, took over Stanton Street as the Texas Democrat entered Congress in January 2013. She controlled it until early 2017.
It’s not illegal to hire vendors connected to your family.
What is illegal is paying above or below market value for those services.
Now reporters and campaign finance sleuths will dig into O’Rourke’s report and this contract with Stanton Street to see if he broke the law.
