This Sunday, 60 Minutes will re-air an investigative report by award-winning CBS reporter Steve Kroft and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer that revealed how members of Congress exploit leadership PAC loopholes to bankroll lavish lifestyles for themselves and their family members.
The report, which was based on Schweizer’s New York Times bestselling book–Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets—sparked the resignation of Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) when Kroft and Schweizer revealed how Andrews used $16,575 from his leadership PAC to fly himself and his family to a luxury resort in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“Andrews’s leadership PAC even picked up the tab for the wedding gift… china, from Bloomingdale’s,” writes Schweizer in Extortion. “It was quite the trip. The family tapped Andrews’s campaign committee for ‘petty cash’ for Scotland in the form of two checks for at least $2,500. They stayed in two rooms in the luxury five-star Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Campaign contributors also picked up the tab for dinners, the in-room bar, and other expenses.”
When Kroft confronted Andrews about the lavish expenditure, Andrews said, “I think we should take a look at having clearer rules at what they can and cannot be spent for. I’d be for that.” Andrews claimed he was unable to talk about the issue because it was the subject of a House Ethics investigation. Kroft, however, said he spoke with the committee, and they said they had no problem with Andrews speaking about the issue.
Andrews announced in early February that he would resign from Congress.
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