Rick Perry Uses Campaign Funds To Fly His Wife Around The World On DOE Trips At Least 5X
Anita Perry has accompanied her husband, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, on at least five government business trips abroad using funds tied to her husband's campaign war chest.
A former nurse with no apparent experience in energy policy, Perry has traveled alongside her husband to international energy talks and conferences held in England, South Africa, Italy, Austria and France since he took office more than a year ago. To cover the cost of those commercial flights, the Perrys appear to have pulled almost $60,000 in campaign funds tied to "Texans for Rick Perry," the Energy secretary and former Texas governor's primary campaign account.
Details of her trips emerged in disclosure forms the Texas Ethics Commission made public. The San Antonio Express-News first reported on the documents. The DOE in a statement defended the travel and said the agency adheres to all federal ethical guidelines. According to the agency, there is precedent for the DOE chief traveling with his spouse, and the secretary has traveled without his wife for the majority of his international travel. Anita Perry, according to the agency, does not hold a security clearance and has not participated in any meetings that require one.
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Under Texas law, money spent on a spouse is allowed "if the travel is in connection with the performance of duties of the officeholder's office," according to the Texas Ethics Commission. That holds even when the candidate moves to federal office, the commission states. In the same statute, the state writes that campaign contributions are given "with the intent that it be used in connection with a campaign for elective office." That is the heart of the problem, according to Sheila Krumholz, the executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group: The Perrys' actions exploit the proper relationship between candidates and the campaign donors.
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https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060106629