FRANKFORT — Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s reelection committee spent nearly $50,000 this summer on luxurious hotels, restaurants and travel services during a trip to Sweden and Denmark.
Expenses included $13,627 paid to Stockholm’s five-star Grand Hotel; $17,742 paid to a luxury travel service known as “Mr Charles,” of Stockholm, and $7,474 at some of the finest restaurants in Stockholm and Copenhagen, according to a report Paul filed recently with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The FEC forbids candidates for federal office from using their campaign funds to pay for personal trips or any personal expenses.
But the spokesperson for Paul’s office said the Scandinavian travel was for the permissible purpose of fundraising — even though U.S. law bars citizens of other countries from giving to campaigns for federal office.
“Fundraising events and trips are a common, accepted and proper use of campaign funds, since they ADD to the campaign totals not subtract,” said Kelsey Cooper, spokesperson for Paul’s office, in an email reply to questions from Kentucky Lantern. “Like with any nonprofit, you have to spend money to raise money, and all of the fundraising efforts have yielded significant contributions from local and traveling American contributors.”
Cooper’s email said the trip raised “over $100,000.” She did not reply to a follow-up email asking if the $100,000 was the gross amount donated or the net amount after paying the nearly $50,000 in expenses. She said the trip occurred during the Senate’s August recess.
Overseas fundraisers rare
One campaign finance watchdog contacted by Kentucky Lantern found the concept of a European fundraiser puzzling simply because it is illegal for foreign nationals to donate to political campaigns in the United States. The pool of potential donors would be restricted to U.S. citizens living abroad or folks who fly to the fundraiser from their homes in the U.S.
“It is rare for a U.S. senator to hold an overseas fundraiser. I would be surprised if there were a substantial number of U.S. nationals living in Denmark and Sweden who’ll give thousands of dollars to the junior senator from Kentucky,” said Brendan Fischer, deputy executive director for Documented, a Washington investigative watchdog and journalism project.
“It costs money to raise money, but spending over $48,000 on a Scandinavian fundraising jaunt isn’t an obviously efficient way to raise funds,” Fischer said.
Campaign finance reform advocate Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman professor of law and leadership at Harvard Law School, said big fundraising events at luxury destinations are a typical practice but one he says is corrupting.
“So long as they engage in any fundraising activity, the campaign committee can be charged for the event. This is one of the ways that people earning modest (by professional standards at least) salaries get to live like they’re multi-millionaires. And yet another way in which they become dependent on campaign funders to keep them living in that luxury,” Lessig said. “It is the essence of institutional corruption, but it is the game most of them play.”
Lessig said, “I’m all for paying them more, and for giving them a per diem for when they’re in D.C., but critically, to ban this sort of corrupt behavior.”
Cooper did not reply to a question asking whether Paul’s wife Kelley Paul went on the Scandinavian trip. However, reports the campaign filed with the FEC indicate it’s likely she did. Those reports list a “travel reimbursement” payment to Kelley Paul for initially paying part of the cost of Stockholm’s Grand Hotel.
Other recent lavish fundraising
An analysis by Kentucky Lantern of Paul’s political committees’ expenses since his most recent reelection in 2022 reveals other large expenses in fancy settings, including trips each of the last two winters to Western ski resorts.
Paul’s political committees report paying more than $25,000 at the posh Pendry Park City resort in Utah over the period. (“Our slopeside retreat’s modernist design, luxury service and thoughtful amenities will help ensure an exceptional experience, time and again.”)
Paul’s political committees paid at least $19,000 to ski.com and its parent company S&L Travel Partners which customize ski vacation packages to the best ski resorts in the world. (“Dedicated to delivering the best vacation experiences possible.”)
Other expenses for these Western trips include: $4,275 to Vail Resorts; $2,164 to Snowbound Transportation; $2,005 to Utah Private Car, and $430 to Snow Country Limousine.
And there was a trip to Hawaii in early 2023, where his political committees show at least $15,731 in spending on hotel rooms, airfare, food, drink, limousines and golf.
Cooper’s emailed response said the ski resort trips and the Hawaii trip were also fundraising efforts that netted big dollars for Paul’s committees.
Michael Beckel, research director for a Washington-based bipartisan political reform group called Issue One, said, “Even if such expenditures do not violate the letter of the law, such lavish spending can create problems for politicians. … Ordinary Americans are right to be concerned when special interests and wealthy donors underwrite politicians’ trips overseas, stays at luxurious hotels, and meals at fancy restaurants.”
Raising and spending at a rapid rate
Paul is not up for reelection until 2028. But his reelection committee – Rand Paul for US Senate – has been raising and spending money at a fast pace beginning soon after he easily defeated Democrat Charles Booker in November of 2022.
The committee had more than $5 million left in the bank after the 2022 race, money that rolled over into the new election cycle. Since then the committee has reported raising roughly $7 million. But at the same time it has spent $6 million, leaving it with a current balance of a bit over $6 million.
By comparison, during the same period in his prior term as senator (Jan. 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2018) the committee had raised just $320,000 and spent just $834,000. This time six years ago, Paul’s reelection committee had a balance of just $245,000.
Rand Paul for US Senate’s reports for the 2023-24 election cycle show that most of the money it has raised this cycle – about 57 percent – has come in small donations of $200 or less.
The spending, Paul’s reports show, has mostly been on big payments for the production and postage of direct mail and for digital advertising.
Past criticism of lavish travel
Paul’s spending of political funds on lavish travel has drawn criticism before in reports of watchdog groups and in newspaper articles. But those reports did not criticize spending by Paul’s reelection committee but a different Paul political committee — his “leadership PAC” called Reinventing A New Direction PAC or RAND PAC.
Leadership PACs were initially authorized by the FEC more than 40 years ago as a way for members of Congress to collect donations and use the money to support their political party and the campaigns of their fellow party members.
Washington-based watchdog groups Issue One and Campaign Legal Center issued reports in 2018 and 2021 that said some members of the U.S. House and Senate had used their leadership PACs as personal slush funds for spending on fancy travel and meals rather than giving it to their party and political allies.
Paul’s RAND PAC was singled out in each of those reports.
The 2018 report said RAND PAC used less than 7% of its spending that election cycle on helping fellow Republicans but spent $11,043 at restaurants in Italy and Malta, $4,492 on a limousine service in Rome and $1,904 at a hotel in Athens.
The 2021 report found that RAND PAC gave only 12% of its money to help fellow Republicans but spent “significant sums on dining, lodging and transportation … including visits to some of the top resorts in the country such as The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida.”
Beckel and Fischer were involved in researching and writing both reports. “We argued that such spending patterns give the impression that some politicians are simply raising money at one posh location to pay for the next fundraiser at the next fancy destination,” Beckel said.
Reelection committee now paying for most travel
But since 2022 RAND PAC has dramatically changed its ways.
RAND PAC’s reports to the FEC show it is a much smaller, less active committee. Its annual spending averaged $623,000 between 2017 and 2021. So far this year, through Oct. 16, RAND PAC has spent just $162,000.
Moreover, 60% of Rand PAC’s spending this year has been in donations to help fellow Republicans, the original purpose of leadership PACs.
In the past two years Paul’s reelection committee, Rand Paul for U.S. Senate, has paid for most of the expensive travel and meals including most costs for the trip to Scandinavia, the two ski resort trips and the trip to Hawaii, reports filed with the FEC show.
Cooper said the past criticism by the two watchdog groups did not cause Paul to intentionally shift big travel costs from RAND PAC to his reelection campaign.
“No, because any criticism was wrong then and wrong now,” she said. “The fundraising events produced excellent results.”
‘Luxury travel,’ ‘culinary excellence’
Here are some expenditures reported by Rand Paul political committees from June through October that apparently are related to the Scandinavian trip.
Mr. Charles AB, Stockholm, $17,742
For transportation. Mr. Charles advertises itself as a multi-modal luxury travel service: private chauffeurs, limousines, yacht charters, helicopter charters and private jets. “Thanks to our professional team of luxury travel and lifestyle management specialists we make you feel special at all times.”
Grand Hotel, Stockholm, $13,627
For hotel, food and beverage. Grand Hotel describes itself as “a five-star hotel … home to celebrities, high-profile events and everyday bon-vivants since 1874. Situated in the best waterfront location imaginable, the hotel overlooks the Royal Palace.”
Restaurant Anton, Copenhagen, $3,772
For food and beverage. “Where history meets culinary excellence. … This 171-year-old venue is the setting for a seasonal kitchen that continues the qualities of Nordic cuisine with an ‘Anton’ Twist.”
Context Travel, Philadelphia, $2,756
For travel. Context Travel is a travel guide service that offers expert local guides in cities across the globe including Stockholm and Copenhagen. “Personal tours for the intentional traveler.”
SKT Petri, Copenhagen, $2,548
For hotel. “Located with one foot planted in the quirky and fun Latin Quarter and the other in the old and historical part of Copenhagen.”
Hamlet Tours, Copenhagen, $2,399
For travel. Hamlet Tours offers guided sight-seeing tours around Copenhagen. “We know what we are talking about, speak English very well and always do our very best to make you feel comfortable.”
Ravelinen, Copenhagen, $2,061
For food and beverage. “Danish lunch and dinner cuisine at its best.”
Swedish National Maritime and Transport Museum, Stockholm, $884
For travel. This is a government agency with “responsibility for the maritime and transport museums in Swedish state care.”
Swiss International Air Lines, Basel, $921
For travel.
Hey Captain, Copenhagen, $691
For travel and water transport. “Our guests reward us as the top rated boat tour in Copenhagen … your Captain will show you our favorite places and the gems of Copenhagen.”
Fyrtojet, Copenhagen, $656
For food and beverage. A waterfront restaurant “located in the middle of Nyhavn, which with its vibrant atmosphere is always filled with happy people! In the summer it is wonderful to enjoy your lunch outside.”
Restaurant Grodan, Stockholm, $571
For food and beverage. “In addition to the classic food, we are also in classic premises.”
Mamma’s, Copenhagen, $414
For food and beverage. “It’s about the right ingredients, experience and a good deal of love. All three parts are the essence of Mamma’s. … It’s like sitting in an Italian courtyard – in the middle of Copenhagen.”
TOTAL: $49,042
Note: Of this total, Rand Paul for US Senate paid $46,431. A smaller Paul political committee (Team Rand) spent the remaining $2,611, according to reports the committees filed with the FEC.
The sources for all expenses in the story and list are reports filed by Rand Paul for U.S. Senate and Team Rand with the Federal Election Commission since the 2022 general election. Some of the totals displayed represent two or more payments to the same company.
The list represents Kentucky Lantern’s best effort to show expenses for the Scandinavian trip. That effort was complicated by the fact that FEC reports are not designed to accommodate payments to foreign businesses. (There are spaces for city and state, no space for countries on the form.) Paul’s political committees listed the business name and street address for the European businesses, but listed the city for the above expenses as “anonymous” and the state as “FF.”
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Written by Tom Loftus. Cross-posted from the Kentucky Lantern.
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