Donors can put money into political action committees that candidates, like House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), can use to support *other* candidates. But Nunes – like many politicians from both major parties – mostly uses his “New PAC” as a slush fund, buying meals, limo rides, and, for some reason, Boston Celtics tickets. This is considered an administrative expense under campaign finance rules.
Nunes’ Celtics tickets appear to have lined up with times when D.C.’s Washington Wizards were in town. Nunes stayed at the luxurious Omni Parker House Hotel while in Boston for the games.
The PAC’s expenses were reported by the Fresno Bee, Nunes’ local newspaper. His campaign released an ad this week saying the Bee works with “radical left-wing groups to promote numerous fake news stories about me.”
“Fake news” is the term commonly used by President Donald Trump; in May of this year, the president appeared to acknowledge that he uses the term to discredit negative coverage of the White House, regardless of whether or not that coverage is factual. The White House has called several news stores “fake news” even when the are known to be, or are later proven to be, true.
Still, the term has become a rallying cry among Republican voters who say that the “mainstream media” – excluding Fox News, the most popular cable news network – publishes fake articles to make Republican politicians like Nunes, who has a political action committee that he uses to take money from defense contractors and buy himself lavish vacations with, look bad.
The featured image for this article appears under a Creative Commons license and was originally produced by Gage Skidmore.
