Witchy Woman

Watchdog: O'Donnell 'Clearly a Criminal'

Ethics group alleges misuse of campaign funds.

Christine O’Donnell “is clearly a criminal, and like any crook she should be prosecuted,” says nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in two complaints alleging the Republican Senate candidate misused $20,000 in campaign funds. “Ms. O'Donnell has spent years embezzling money from her campaign to cover her personal expenses,” the group says. CREW is seeking a Federal Election Commission audit of O’Donnell’s campaign expenditures, and wants the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office to begin a criminal investigation. The group’s claims are based on an affidavit from an ex-O’Donnell aide, David Keegan, saying O’Donnell used campaign money to pay her rent for two months in 2009 as well as buy food and gas. That means, according to CREW, that the candidate also committed tax evasion, because she didn’t report the campaign cash as income. O’Donnell reported that her income between March 2009 and June 2010 was only $5,800. She has not directly addressed reports of her many financial problems, aside from saying that she fell on “hard times.”