Reps. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Maxine Waters (D-CA.) have been exposed for continuing to shell out thousands in campaign dollars to family members.
According to reporting by Fox News Digital, Waters’ re-election campaign has paid the House Financial Services Committee chairwoman’s daughter $16,000 between July and September.
The $16,000 is only the latest in the $1.2 million Karen Waters’ company, Progressive Connections, has received from her mother’s campaign since 2003. The company has been organizing slate-mailing operations to boost Waters’ campaign.
This week, Citizens for Waters submitted a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing, showing the younger Waters received $16,000 in the third quarter. The amount was paid toward “slate mailer management fees.”
Slate mailers are a relatively uncommon form of campaigning in federal elections.
The purpose of slate-mailing is to create pamphlets that display a list of candidates and their policy measures, advising voters on how to cast their ballot.
It has also been reported that the top House Democrat was the only federal politician using slate mailers in the 2020 general election.
Waters’ daughter isn’t the only family member to benefit from the California Representative’s campaign funds.
In 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that Waters’ paid $1 million to family members in the preceding eight years.
House Majority Whip Clyburn also paid $7,500 in “office rent” for a company linked to his son-in-law, 49 Magnolia Blossom LLC.
Since March 2020, the limited liability company has been the recipient of nearly $80,000 in campaign funds.
The news comes ahead of the November midterms. And while it is legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members, the practice is typically frowned upon by ethics committees.
