FL-15: Ross Spano acknowledges possible 'violation' of campaign finance law
Newly elected congressman Ross Spano has acknowledged that his campaign financing "may have been in violation" of federal law.
In a filing with the Federal Elections Commission which Spano released publicly Saturday afternoon, he acknowledged borrowing $180,000 from two people he has described as personal friends from June through October this year, and then lending his campaign $167,000 in roughly the same time period.
When he made the loans to his campaign, Spano said on campaign finance reports that the money came from his "personal funds."
But under federal campaign finance law, a loan made to a candidate with the intent of providing money for a campaign must be considered a campaign contribution, not the candidate's personal funds.
Any such loan must adhere to campaign contribution limits — $2,700 each for the primary and general elections, far less than the loans Spano acknowledges having received.
Several election law experts have said that if Spano's loans to his campaign came from money from money borrowed from friends, it appears to violate campaign finance law.
The purpose of the law, those experts said, is to prevent one or more wealthy individuals from single-handedly financing a candidate for office.
At the time of the loans, Spano "believed he was acting in full compliance with the law" as did the two lenders, "based on the consultations they had at the time," stated a letter to the Commission that was released Saturday afternoon.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/12/01/ross-spano-acknowledges-possible-violation-of-campaign-finance-law/
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