A personal perk indulged by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) may have breached Congress ethics laws.
Former President Donald Trump's and former President Barack Obama's ex-White House doctor-turned-lawmaker appears to have purchased a private dining club membership with campaign money, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics and first reported by MyHighPlains.com.
They wrote that "there is substantial reason to believe that Rep.Jackson converted campaign funds from Texans for Ronny Jackson to personal use or Rep.Jackson’s campaign committee expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign political purposes," according to the document.
The committee accused Jackson of treating himself as a patron of The Amarillo Club.
Notably, Jackson "declined to interview or provide any additional documents or testimony," according to the OCE review. "Additionally, and in contrast to the prior review, the Amarillo Club refused to provide documents" to the committee as well.
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Established in 1947, the spot bills itself as a "place of romantic evenings, life event celebrations, business meetings, special receptions and much more."
The Texas lawmaker is accused of making payments to partake in the posh members club from October 2020 and September 2021 placing him in potential violation of House rules and federal law.
The ethics office reviewed Jackson’s campaign committee, Texans for Ronny Jackson, and claimed he "continued to use campaign funds to pay for unlimited access to the Amarillo Club..."
Such benefits include partaking in the club’s "dining rooms, gym, banquet and meeting rooms, club events," the report states, and reported by Salon.
The report suggests Jackson did so despite "being aware of the OCE’s December 2021 referral" and making the dues payments as being "not legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures."
The ethics office detailed how personal use means "any use of funds in a campaign account of a present or former candidate to fulfill a commitment, obligation or expense of any person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s campaign or duties as a Federal officeholder."
Jackson has already lit a controversy of late by calling for Biden to take a “clinically validated drug test” before he takes the stage opposite Trump on June 27 in the first presidential debate in Atlanta.
"So tomorrow, I'm sending a letter to President Biden, to his physician, Dr. O'Connor, and I'm CCing his entire cabinet," Jackson explained. "And it's embarrassing that I have to do this."
