Ex-Trump doctor Ronny Jackson spent thousands in donor funds at swanky club, House ethics watchdog says
Source: UK Independent
1 hour ago
Former US Navy doctor turned Texas congressman Ronny Jacksoon may have broken campaign finance laws by using donor funds to cover thousands of dollars worth of bills at a swanky Texas club, according to the nonpartisan House Office of Congressional Ethics.
The six-member House Ethics Committee, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, voted unanimously to continue a two-month-old probe into Jackson’s conduct that was touched off by allegations that his campaign committee, Texans for Ronny Jackson, had paid his personal bills at a members-only restaurant in Amarillo, Texas called the Amarillo Club.
In a press release, Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss) and Ranking Member Susan Wild (D-Penn) said the panel was continuing to review the matter of Jackson’s alleged violations but would not make any further public comments while the investigation remains ongoing.
The announcement of the continued probe into Jackson — who in July 2022 was demoted to the rank of Captain by the Navy after a probe into his conduct while he served as the head of the White House Medical Unit and the physician to presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump — comes after the Office of Congressional Ethics said there is “substantial reason to believe” that he violated “House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law” by using funds donated to his campaign committee on personal expenses.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/ronny-jackson-house-ethics-committee-b2568097.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
When PA's Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine was recruited by the Biden Administration to HHS to be Assistant Secretary for Health, she was commissioned as an Admiral in the Public Health Service - https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/rachel-levine.html
(PHS uses the Naval ranks)
Like Salvation Army ranks. Just weird. 
Instead of halting the payments, according to the OCE report, Jackson’s committee shifted from describing the Amarillo Club payments in its Federal Election Commission reports as “registration fees” in its reports to other descriptors including “membership fees,” “food/beverage,” “membership dues,” and “membership for exclusive campaign purposes.”
The OCE report noted that Jackson “referred to the not-yet-resolved [previous 2021 review] as a reason not to cooperate with the OCE.” Further, the OCE said that Jackson’s counsel “communicated to the OCE that a response would not be provided because – in their view – the present inquiry was merely an extension of the previous investigation and that Rep. Jackson intended to reassert all of the arguments made in his official response to the prior OCE matter.”
“In summary, between October 2020 and January 2024, Rep. Jackson’s campaign committee spent $11,928.27 at the Amarillo Club for dues, fees, meals, and other services,” said the OCE findings, “Since Rep. Jackson and employees of the Amarillo Club refused to cooperate with this review, the OCE could not determine to what extent his use of the club and the campaign committee’s food and beverage spending at the club was campaign related. Regardless, the campaign committee’s payment of monthly dues implicates the prohibition against personal use of campaign funds.”
