9 News: 'Zombie Campaigns': Colorado Candidates keep funds long after Campaigns End
Despite his decision to stop running for office, his campaign continued spending its funds for 11 years; paying more than $17,000 in cell phone bills, and making regular payments of $2,000 per month to Campbell’s daughter-in-law, Karen Campbell, campaign records show.
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FEC rules allow payments to family members who do genuine work for a campaign, as long as they are paid at “market rate.” Still, campaign finance experts said that while FEC rules are vague, it’s clear that someone out of politics should not be spending as if they are still campaigning. “It’s hard to imagine how some of this is not illegal,” said Larry Noble, a former FEC attorney and senior director of ethics for the Campaign Legal Center, a D.C. watchdog group. “If you’re not in office and you aren’t running, there aren’t a lot of expenditures you should be having.”