Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) has spent over $61,000 in campaign funds to pay for child support.
The payments have not been without issue, however, as Warnock’s ex-wife Oulèye Ndoye has sued the Democrat to modify the custody arrangement with their children, as well as alleging Warnock had “failed and refused to reimburse” her for childcare expenses.
Ndoye alleges Warnock is in “willful contempt” of the childcare agreement and asks a judge to give her additional custody over the children as she moves to Massachusetts to complete a program at Harvard University.
Warnock also allegedly spends little time with his children when he has them, leaving them often with nannies, and many of the campaign expenditures used for childcare go to Bright Start Nanny Services.
The Georgia Democrat has allegedly been using his campaign to fund his childcare expenses since 2020, but appears to have stopped for a year soon after taking office in 2021. After Ndoye filed the complaint, which also cited his increased income due to becoming a Senator, Warnock resumed to pay for childcare out of the campaign’s pocket.
Since 2020, Warnock’s campaign has spent a total of $61,959.40 on childcare, according to FEC filings.
FEC rules surrounding Warnock’s actions are unclear. Childcare payments are allowed by the FEC, but are typically used to pay for the care for a day trip or an overnight trip. It appears that Warnock is funding his childcare payments entirely through campaign funds.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Warnock spokesperson Meredith Brasher said the Senator is a “a devoted father who is proud to continue to co-parent his two children as he works for the people of Georgia.”
Warnock has in the past been accused of diverting campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.
As Breitbart News reported, the Peach State Democrat used campaign funds to pay for legal expenses in a personal lawsuit.
“Warnock used campaign cash to cover the legal expenses for a lawsuit relating to his time as a church minister in 2005,” the report said. “The case was filed in 2019 by an Atlanta resident, Melvin Robertson, with allegations dating back to 2005.”
The FEC allows campaign money to be spent on “litigation expenses where the candidate/officeholder was the defendant and the litigation arose directly from campaign activity or the candidate’s status as a candidate,” but not on personal use.
These developments come as Warnock is running for a full, six-year term in Georgia — a race certain to be one of the most highly contested and watched battle in the 2022 midterms.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.