Ethics Investigator Calls Out Lauren Boebert For Shady Cash Reimbursements

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The gun-themed restaurant owner and QAnon believer, Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has only been in office a month, but she has already made a negative name for herself, and it continues to worsen. She claimed election fraud without evidence and her right to carry a gun in Congress. She delved right into the pool of the January 6 incitement to violence prior to an attempted homegrown coup. Then, it got worse.

Voters in the district she represents are taking a second, harder look at her. Some support her, but others worry. Right before the attempted coup, she was with those who did not believe President Joe Biden had won the election.

Boebert loudly objected to the Arizona Electoral College votes, a vote that had already moved through the court system. She said according to CPR News:

‘Madame Speaker, I have constituents outside this building right now. I promised my voters to be their voice! Are we not a government, of, by, and for the people? They know that this election was not right, and as their representative, I am sent here to represent them. I will not allow the people to be ignored.’

The Colorado representative’s former finance director and campaign manager released a statement that said Beobert drove almost 40,000 miles last year. Her campaign defended the driving reimbursements, because it was a grassroots campaign that involved frequent travel. The Denver Post reported:

‘She traveled to every nook and cranny of the district to speak with and hear from the people about their concerns. They say showing up is 90% of the battle and Lauren always showed up. Her aggressive travel schedule is a big reason she won.’

A former investigator for the Office of Ethics Kedric Payne said:

“This highly unusual amount of mileage expenses raises red flags and the campaign should feel obligated to provide answers.’

Candidates can legally reimburse themselves for miles driven in personal vehicles calculating with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service’s) millage rate, $57.5 per mile for 2020. Boebert wrote two checks equaling $22,259 on her campaign account for mileage in January and the middle of November. She would have had to drive 38,712 miles to justify that expense. The campaign did not even advertise any events in the months of March, April, or July except one in May.

Beobert replaced Representative Scott Tipton, who only claimed just under $10,000 for all travel expenses including aiirfare. He was in office for a decade. He claimed  $9,575 specifically for mileage.

Representative Don Young (R-AK) represents the biggest district in the nation, Alaska. He reimbursed himself for all travel including airfare in the amount of $9,965.

The Post broke down 80 public events Boebert hosted in Colorado’s 3rd District and used GPS (global positioning software) to calculate her mileage. It made the assumption that she attended each event and began her trip from home in Silt, Colorado and back again.

She traveled 17,623 miles last year. The campaign claimed those figures did not reflect every “meeting, fundraiser or campaign event.” Instead, those events were just a “small sampling.”

The FEC (Federal Election Commission) disclosed her filing. Thus far, there have been no formal complaints about her reimbursements. “The FEC and Office of Congressional Ethics have jurisdiction if there was a violation.”

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