Report: Pelosi Gives PAC Money to Husband

A Washington Times exclusive October 1^st reports that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi "...has directed nearly $100,000 from her political action committee to her husband's real estate and investment firm..." over the past ten years.

Before going any further, it is important to point out that nothing Speaker Pelosi has done with regard to this particular report is illegal, and no allegations of wrongdoing have been made. Instead, the implication is that the Speaker is being hypocritical and unethical.

The charge of hypocrisy arises from the fact that Speaker Pelosi just last year supported banning the practice of using political donations to pay spouses of candidates and elected officials. According to the Washington Times article, Pelosi's political action committee, PAC to the Future, has given $99,000 to Financial Leasing Services, Inc., owned by the Speaker's husband, Paul F. Pelosi. The money was reported to have been for rent, utilities and accounting fees.

The Times went on to say that payments from the Speaker's PAC "quadrupled" in the past year, when Mr. Pelosi assumed the role of treasurer for the committee. Citing Federal Election Commission records, the Times says Mr. Pelosi's company is receiving payments from the Speaker's PAC at a rate that would give him nearly $50,000 this year alone. That sum represents a significant increase in payments over what was paid annually when the PAC had a different treasurer.

The Times notes that the use of campaign funds to pay relatives received significant attention during 2006 in the midst of the Abramoff scandal. Last year, in her first year as Speaker, Representative Pelosi gave her support to a measure that would have forbidden the very actions now being undertaken by her PAC. The measure passed the House but failed in the Senate.

As far as ethics are concerned, the Times quoted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington executive director Melanie Sloan as saying, "It's problematic. From what I understand, Mr. Pelosi doesn't need the money, but this isn't the issue. As speaker of the House, it sends the wrong message." And Meredith McGehee, who serves as policy director at the Campaign Legal Center, is quoted by the Times as saying that PAC payments to relatives "is bound to raise questions."

Again, there is no indication that anything illegal has transpired here. But the payments made by Mrs. Pelosi's PAC do appear to contradict her public stance against paying relatives with political donations.