O’Donnell’s Spending ‘Illegal’

The spotlight is now on Christine O’Donnell, the 41-year-old Sarah Palin-endorsed upset winner of Delaware's GOP Senate primary, and from the looks of it, it ain’t pretty. O’Donnell is currently being targeted by a watchdog group claiming the Tea Partier abused campaign funds for personal use and made false statements on forms she filed with the Federal Elections Commission. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which earlier in the year scrutinized Charlie Rangel, filed a complaint to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Delaware and the Federal Elections Commission alleging that O’Donnell illegally spent more than $20,000 in 2009 and 2010. “It turns out Miss O'Donnell has treated her campaign funds like they are her very own personal piggy bank,” said Melanie Sloan, the group’s executive director. “She's used that money to pay for things like her rent, for gas, meals, and even a bowling outing. And that's just flat-out illegal.” Much of these campaign expenses were made in 2009, when O’Donnell was not a candidate for anything. Representatives for O’Donnell could not be reached for comment. The Daily Beast’s Benjy Sarlin reported earlier this week that O’Donnell paid her mother $3,500 for consulting on her last campaign.