On Tuesday, Reid announced he would reimburse his campaign, Friends of Harry Reid, the $17,000 they gave his granddaughter for “holiday gifts,” but the Federal Election Commission is not satisfied.
A spokeswoman for the FEC acknowledged that Reid’s plan to reimburse the money may not be sufficient to keep the FEC from auditing or penalizing him. The organization wrote Friends of Harry Reid to demand that they “include a brief statement or description … to clarify” why $17,000 was given to his granddaughter, Ryan Elisabeth Reid.
Reid has until April 25th to offer a clear explanation for his actions.
He has said that he has done no wrong: “No, in fact, it wasn’t (wrong). As I said, I just wanted to avoid — and I’m very fortunate that I can write that check, so it’s all done.”
A spokeswoman for Reid stated that the money paid to his granddaughter was for jewelry given out as “holiday gifts” from the campaign. Reid said that he “thought it would be nice to give supporters and staff thank-you gifts that had a personal connection and a Searchlight connection.”
Reid’s granddaughter, listed only as Ryan Elisabeth on the disbursement reports, hails from Las Vegas. She is the oldest child of Rory Reid, Reid’s oldest son, who ran for Nevada governor in 2010.
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