Sen. Bob Casey Campaigns Paid $500K To Sister’s Printing Company

Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. Bob Casey’s campaigns have funneled more almost $500,000 to a printing company owned by his sister and brother-in-law, sparking serious ethics questions.

“Casey (D-Pa.), 62, has spent more than $500,000 on services from Universal Printing Company over the course of his nearly three-decade political career — more than $200,000 of which was paid between 2005 and 2022 by Bob Casey for Senate, Inc., according to Federal Election Commission filings,” the New York Post reported.

“Universal Printing’s owner and CEO, Margi McGrath, is the oldest sister of the Democratic senator, has also donated thousands to Casey’s Senate fund and even campaigned on his behalf during his failed 2002 run for Pennsylvania governor. McGrath runs Universal with her husband. William, who has also donated thousands to Casey’s Senate campaigns over the years,” the outlet added.

“Any time campaign dollars flow from a sitting US Senator to a family member, ethics alarm bells should start ringing,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, told The Post. “Senator Casey is prohibited from using campaign funds to enrich family members, and any semblance of doing so deserves serious scrutiny.”

Sen. Bob Casey campaigns paid $500K to sister’s printing company: FEC filings https://t.co/Sz3cVYNWNz via @nypost

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Politicians funneling campaign funds to their family members is not new or illegal but does raise ethics questions.

California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters has paid her daughter over $1.2 million since 2004, which included the younger Waters getting another six figures in payments in the 2022 cycle.

“Karen Waters pocketed $192,300 from her mother’s campaign to keep her ‘slate mailer’ operation afloat between Jan. 2021 and Dec. 2022, a Fox News Digital review of Federal Election Commission filings shows. The setup involves outside campaigns paying Waters’ campaign to appear on the slate mailers – or endorsement mailers – sent out to constituents in the Los Angeles area,” Fox News reported.

“The practice is highly unusual on the federal level, and Waters appears to be the only national politician using it to grab committee cash. Slate mailers, however, are commonplace in her home state of California, though critics say it involves deceptive practices over one campaign paying another for a politician’s backing in an election. Waters received the green light to run the operation from the Federal Election Commission in the fall of 2004. Since then, Karen Waters has received more than $1.2 million in payments from her mother’s campaign,” the outlet added.

It’s legal for federal lawmakers to employ family members on campaigns, but the practice is frowned upon by ethics experts.

Now, Republicans are aiming to put a ban on lawmakers from putting family members on the campaign payroll after many prominent Democrats have been called out over the practice.

Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon has introduced legislation called the Family Integrity to Reform Elections Act, which would prevent campaign funds from going to a candidate’s immediate family.

The bill, if passed, would also make the candidate directly responsible for knowingly violating the provision.

“The Family Integrity to Reform Elections (FIRE) Act is a critical step to reducing nepotistic practices in American campaigns. Allowing direct family members to be on the take of campaigns must come to an end. For example, Maxine Waters, the worst perpetrator, has given her daughter over $1.1 million in campaign funds. This is utterly egregious, and I will not stand by as the integrity of our elections is further diminished,” Fallon told the Daily Caller.

“Maxine Waters [paid] $1.1 million to her daughter from campaign funds,” Fallon said in a statement. “Ilhan Omar, $2.9 million to her husband from campaign funds. James Clyburn, over $200,000 to multiple family members from his campaign.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Fallon added. “Americans are sick of politicians abusing their voters’ hard-earned money. This modern-day spoils system must end. My bill shines a light on shady campaign finance practices while punishing those who take advantage of these funds to enrich their families.”

“Karen Waters, who has been organizing slate-mailing operations to bolster her mother’s re-election for nearly two decades, and her company, Progressive Connections, have received more than $1.2 million since 2003 for campaign services, including ‘slate mailer management’ fees and ‘campaign managing services,'” Fox News reported.