Used Private Planes

Headquartered in Virginia, Paramount Business Jets provides "private jets to and from any large metropolitan area in the globe, in airplanes of any capacity with a lead time of just 4 hours," according to the company's website. Unauthorized use of PAC funds by members of Congress to donate funds to other policy nominees and committee members to be used for non-commercial airline trips is prohibited.

An exception described in the Act is state aircraft or aircraft already in the possession or lease of the Congress Member or nominee. "MacClatchy and the Fresno Bee print faithfully several unfounded hits against Rep. Nunes every week, relying on incorrect information released by leftist interest groups, and that will no doubt be continued through the election," said Ratekin. 1.

FEC spokesperson Myles Martin said nominees may in certain cases use PAC executive funds to charter private aircraft. Under the FEC interpretations, in these cases private aircraft charter may come under the category of business aviation, Martin said. The Paramount Business Aircraft is not on the FAA certified airline lists.

"Legislation was created primarily to prohibit candidate use of a company's private jets or those of a prosperous donor," Martin said, and added that PAC grievances from executives are unusual because they give candidate "wide discretion" in their use. However, Dan Weiner, former FEC Commissar Fellow and impartial Brennan Center Greenfielder Greenfielder and former FEC Commissar Greenfielder Greenfield Flight Greenfield Flight Greenfield Flight Manager, said that any charter of private aircraft by a PAC is a " clear illicit use" under the 2007 Honest leadership and open government act.

"While there are relatively few areas of the campaign financing legislation that are a light line, in the case of private aircraft it is a clear violation," Weiner said. An expert charterer with Paramount business jet companies who refused to be spotted said there are shorter trips, two or less hour trips, which could be about $5,000.

The Campaign Legal Center that lodged the appeal last weekend released a joint Issue One and FEC statement calling on the FEC to monitor more closely the use of PACs for private purposes camouflaged as fund-raising. Ms Brendan Fischer, who co-wrote the Campaign Legal Center account, said she lodged the appeal because of what she saw as the clarity of the infringement.

Going through financial campaigns financial statements of the leading MACs of hundred of Congressmen, he said Nunes was the only House Member who had a MAC that used money for private flights. Cruz Ted, R-Texas, Rand Paul, R-Kentucky and John Cornyn R-Texas, also used executive MAC money for private flights, but by statute, only house members are forbidden to do so, Fischer said.

Nowes' glory has increased tremendously through his chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, his amicable relations with President Donald Trump, and his contentious opinions on Justice Department inquiries. When he became better known, Nunes' fund-raising skills increased. Nunes lobbied more than $7 million for his own re-election in 2018, versus last year' cycle when he usually lobbied between $1 million and $2. 5 million.

The new PAC has also seen its fund-raising increase year after year and is now well on the way to raising and spending more in 2017-18 than in previous years. Campaign Legal Center and Issue One reported also highlighting the new PAC, which since 2010 has been buying $15,000 in Boston Celtics ticket value in this electoral season and more than $40,000 in spending at high-end Las Vegas restaurant and hotel destinations.

In June, Nunes' PAC also spend about $15,000 on a lone wine tourism in California today, which included a sedan and a beach front resort guestroom. Not responding to McClatchy's inquiries for an opinion on these issues, Ratekin said to the Boston Globe that the McClatchy review "showed misconduct" even though nunes had done nothing wrong.

It would not validate or disavow Nunes' participation in the Globe game.