(NYDailyNews) Mike Pence used $13G of campaign funds for mortgage, golf fees during 1990 congressional bid.
Who's crooked now?
During a failed 1990 congressional run, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Donald Trump's newly announced running mate, used nearly $13,000 in campaign funds for a slew of personal purposes, including paying down his mortgage and covering golf tournament fees.
The then 31-year-old lawyer didn't break any laws at the time — but Pence's questionable ethics outraged voters and ultimately prompted the Federal Election Commission to crack down on politicians who abuse their campaign funds, the Washington Post reported.
"If you're giving money to Mike Pence, you're paying his mortgage!" Billy Linville, campaign manager for Pence's rival, incumbent Democrat Philip R. Sharp, screamed at a 1990 press conference after news of the spending spree broke.
Pence eventually lost in a landslide — an outcome directly related to the shady spending, Linville said.
"Without question, he may well have won the election if it had not been for that," he told the newspaper in a new interview. "It was a bombshell, for sure."
According to 1990 campaign finance records, Pence used $12,867 from his campaign account for personal expenses. That's the equivalent of about $23,700 in 2016.
The payouts included seven $992 mortgage payments and seven of his wife's $222 car payments. More cash went to buy household groceries, pay off Pence's credit cards and even cover the costs of participating in golf tournaments.
When news broke before the election, Pence stood by his spending habits. He had taken a significant pay cut when he backed away from his job as a lawyer to run for office, he claimed.
"I'm not embarrassed that I need to make a living," he told reporters at the time.
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