Dems accuse John James of improper campaign spending
GOP spokeswoman says the spending was legitimate
Congressional candidate John James is accused by Michigan Democrats of potentially misspending about $11,500 in campaign funds last year for expenses in Florida, South Carolina and Chicago; and two large dinners in Michigan.
The Michigan Democratic Party on Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging James may have illegally spent money from his failed U.S. Senate campaign in 2021 after he had lost the election and before he filed to run for Congress. The Farmington Hills resident is the lone GOP candidate for the new 10th District U.S. House seat that includes much of Macomb County and a small portion of Oakland County. Dems say the payouts may violate the Federal Campaign Finance Act because it appears they were for “personal use.”
“John James keeps running failed campaigns despite being repeatedly rejected by Michiganders, and now we know at least one reason why — he thinks he can use his campaign donations as a personal piggy bank for vacations and travel,” said state Democratic Chair Lavora Barnes. “If this is how James spends his campaign contributions, we can only imagine how he’d spend taxpayer dollars. James is not above the law, plain and simple, and the FEC should investigate this improper spending immediately.”
But James campaign spokeswoman Abby Mitch said the expenditures were legal under the law. The expenditures mostly went for donor appreciation and speaking engagements, she said.
“This complaint shows how desperate Democrats are and how afraid they are of seeing John James’ name on the ballot because they have resorted to lying about his campaign activity to the public — all campaign activity fully complied with the law,” Mitch said. “Worst of all, the Michigan Democratic Party knows they are lying because their own senate candidates — Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow — engaged in nearly identical spending behavior over the same 2021 timeframe.”
James announced his candidacy Jan. 31 and on Thursday became the first candidate to formally file for the 10th congressional seat by submitting 1,600 signatures, well over the 1,000 needed, to the Michigan Secretary of State. Five Democrats have announced they will vie the nomination to run against the GOP nominee but have not yet filed.
The filing deadline is April 19.
Whether the expenditures were illegal is likely questionable, said Adrian Hemond, a Lansing-based political consultant, adding, “There’s a lot of gray area in these things.”
“As far as illegality, it is a pretty high mountain to climb,” Hemond said. “It has to be pretty egregious to get their (FEC’s) attention.”
FEC spokesman Myles Martin confirmed the filing but said he could not comment on the complaint.
“Each complaint is evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “Should the commission find that a violation has occurred, penalties may range from a letter of caution to monetary civil penalties.”
At each stage of the process, including whether to proceed with an investigation or reach an agreement with a respondent, a vote for four of the six FEC commissioners is required for the case to progress, he said
The amount of money at issue, $11,586, is miniscule compared to the over $46 million James raised for his 2020 campaign for the Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Peters. Two years earlier, James was defeated by incumbent U.S. Sen. Stabenow. His fund ended last year with about $145,000.
James paid for food and beverages at high-end restaurants, chauffeur services, luxury hotels, airfare, inflight Wi-Fi and rideshare trips.
The eight-page complaint says the expenditures of the leftover funds “would not be for any bona fide campaign purpose.”
“Although the law allows excess campaign funds to be ‘used for any … lawful purpose,’ such use may not be ‘personal use,’” the Dems say. “The nature, timing and regularity of the expenses strongly suggest that James and the Committee converted campaign funds for personal use.”
James spent over half the money, $6,225, for food and beverage in two events held over four days last August at Joe Muer restaurant in Bloomfield Hills and the Amway Grand Plaza hotel in Grand Rapids, $3,414 and $2,561 respectively, according to data compiled by the Democrats.
In April 2021, he says he spent nearly $1,300 in a three-day stay in Florida, about half for a stay at The Ritz Carlton hotel on Amelia Island near Jacksonville, Fla., and meals at Shula’s Burger Bar at Jacksonville International Airport.
In June 2021, over $800 was spent for a hotel, meals, airport parking and an Uber ride over three days in Charleston, N.C.
In four days last September, about $650 was spent on lodging at a Hilton hotel and for transportation in Chicago.