Legislator’s cash use gets scrutiny

WASHINGTON — An advocacy group on Wednesday asked congressional investigators to examine whether Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock violated House ethics rules by using taxpayer and campaign funds for private air travel.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in its complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics that available evidence about Schock’s spending “warrants a full investigation.” Schock, a 33-year-old Republican, has faced scrutiny in recent weeks over revelations that he used the funds to pay for trips on his donors’ aircraft.

An Associated Press review this week found Schock spent more than $40,000 for at least a dozen flights, including trips before 2013 that may have violated House rules. Schock’s expenses also include fundraising-related charges to a massage company and for music concerts.

This is the third complaint from the liberal-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics about Schock’s finances since early February, the most recent one filed days after reports from the AP, Washington Post, Politico and USA Today. The group’s complaints Feb. 3 and Feb. 9 asked for inquiries over decorating services to furnish his office after the TV show Downton Abbey, as well as the sale of his Peoria, Ill., home to a campaign contributor.

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