“Watchdog Claims Kyrsten Sinema’s Travel Expenses Cross Legal Boundaries”

A government oversight organization has lodged a complaint against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, claiming that her recent extravagant travel expenses violated campaign-finance regulations.

The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington accuses Sinema, I-Ariz., of transgressing election laws that forbid candidates from allocating campaign funds for solely personal uses.

“The guideline is clear: any dollar spent by your campaign must be for campaign-related purposes — it cannot merely benefit you personally,” stated CREW president Noah Bookbinder in a written statement. “It’s difficult to understand how any of this expenditure could benefit the campaign.”

Sinema declared in March that she would not pursue re-election, concluding a divisive solitary Senate term that alienated many both on and off Capitol Hill. By then, she had charged her campaign more than $200,000 for travel expenses incurred during visits to France, Japan, the U.K., and other international sites, as reported by The Arizona Republic in October.

Federal election regulations permit candidates’ campaigns to cover travel and security costs linked to their official or campaign responsibilities. However, they prohibit using campaign funds for expenses that candidates would incur independently of their election or governmental duties.

Sinema’s campaign-finance disclosures did not clarify which actions were official Senate tasks and which were financed by her campaign. According to the complaint, CREW could not identify an official purpose for the expenditures “through an extensive search of the public record.”

“The law is applicable to you whether it’s your initial week in office or your final,” Bookbinder stated. “Utilizing thousands of dollars in campaign donations for personal expenses is even more disconcerting following your announcement that you are no longer a candidate.”

The complaint contends that Sinema’s expenditures could breach criminal statutes and should be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation.

The matter is now before the notoriously deadlocked Federal Elections Commission, an agency often sluggish or indecisive in addressing complaints regarding campaign finance. 

Moreover, even if campaign expenses “appear somewhat unusual,” deciphering whether a candidate’s expenditures align with the narrowly defined criteria for misuse could prove challenging, a lawyer told The Republic in October.

A representative from Sinema’s office did not respond to a request for feedback.

Sinema’s travel expenses accumulated this year

Overall, Sinema, I-Ariz., charged approximately $216,000 for travel from July to September, as shown in her campaign finance report. Her campaign also covered $152,000 for her security-related costs.

Among other expenses, she attended the Olympics in Paris in August, embarked on an official journey to Normandy for the 80^th anniversary of D-Day, and seemed to visit a Tokyo-based enterprise focused on the sustainable advancement of outer space.

Sinema’s campaign incurred $4,500 for accommodation, a car service, and dining with Thai and Indian cuisine in London. Additionally, she expended $800 on train tickets from a German-based firm, though it was unclear if she traveled to Germany as well.

Not the first instance of scrutiny over Sinema’s spending

This is not the initial occasion that Sinema’s affinity for travel has triggered legal complaints.

Last year, while the battle for her Senate seat was evolving, a Democrat-aligned organization aiming to unseat Sinema lodged a comparable complaint, targeting her extravagant expenditures on luxury hotels, dining, and travel starting from 2019 and extending through 2022. Sinema’s press representative at that time dismissed the claims as “desperate political maneuvers.”

Last year’s complaint criticized Sinema for campaignspending that significantly coincided with her private passions, such as her participation in the Boston Marathon. Attorneys for Sinema, a fitness aficionado, justified the costs, asserting that the marathon was “an optimal venue and moment for impactful fundraising.”

CREW is referencing these points to scrutinize her more recent expenditures. Sinema incurred approximately $8,000 in travel costs in the Boston vicinity during the days surrounding the marathon this spring, yet has indicated that she raised merely one dollar since March, as reported in CREW’s complaint.

Sinema’s extravagant expenditures have contributed to a complex legacy that the senator will leave behind upon her departure from office in early January. As she transitioned from a political progressive to a business-friendly Independent, detractors depicted her as an individual motivated by personal financial interests who caters to the desires of affluent individuals.

Sinema’s term concludes on Jan. 3. Senator-elect Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., will take her place, marking Arizona’s first Latino senator.

She played a significant role in negotiating several of President Joe Biden’s key legislative achievements, but also obstructed other Democratic initiatives during her time in Congress.

In a parting speech in December, Sinema commended the “guardrails” of democracy, encompassing the Constitution, the oath of office, and the traditions and regulations of the Senate. 

“Many now attribute the blame to these guardrails for hindering vital progress, instead of acknowledging that it is us, our actions, our discourse, our lack of civility, and ultimately, our reluctance to compromise that obstruct reasonable solutions from progressing,” Sinema stated.