The call for an FEC investigation adds to the scrutiny Ryan Zinke is facing over his political activity. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Watchdog urges probe of whether Zinke campaign benefited friend, family

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s congressional campaign committee bought an RV from his wife then sold it to a friend a year later at a steep discount, a watchdog group said in a Feder al Election Commission complaint that alleges an illegal scheme to convert political donations into personal cash.

The June RV sale is one of several transactions the Campaign Legal Center says may have provided illegal benefits to Zinke’s family or friends. The group also cites hotel stays in the Virgin Islands and New York that Zinke’s campaign paid for after the Montana Republican was tapped to join then-President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, as well as catering expenses the campaign incurred after Zinke was confirmed. CLC also says in the complaint that Zinke may have relied on a joint fundraising committee to allow donors to give money to his campaign above federal contribution limits.


The call for an FEC investigation adds to the scrutiny Zinke is facing over his political activity. He is already under investigation by Interior’s inspector general and the independent Office of Special Counsel over travel costs he incurred as secretary to attend political events while on official business, including a fundraiser in the Virgin Islands in his first month in office.

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"When you combine the disregard for campaign finance laws when Zinke was a candidate with the disregard that Zinke as Interior secretary has shown for the ethics laws, you certainly get a picture of an individual who may not be taking his responsibilities as an officeholder seriously," Brendan Fischer, who submitted the complaint for CLC, told POLITICO.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift declined to comment.

In the complaint, CLC says the Zinke campaign's RV sale could have violated federal law prohibiting using political donations for personal benefit in one of two ways: Either the campaign overpaid for the vehicle when it purchased it from Lolita Zinke for $59,100 in April 2016, or it allowed Zinke's friend Ed Buttrey to pay below - market value when he bought it for $25,000 in June of this year. Records also show Zinke for Congress fund spent more than $6,000 on tires and maintenance work on the RV in 2016.

The RV would have been valued at $40,000 to $49,000 when it was sold to Buttrey, according to The Associated Press, which first reported the transaction in August. Federal law requires transactions to be for fair market value when a campaign purchases goods from a candidate's family or sells assets to someone else. CLC's complaint notes it "is extremely unlikely that the value of the RV declined by 42 percent over the course of a single year."

Buttrey, a Montana state senator who is speculated to be in the running to be nominated as an Interior assistant secretary, did not respond to a request for comment.

CLC's complaint also raises concerns that Zinke has not disclosed the dates of key expenses from the end of last year. Zinke for Congress reported a $22,744 payment to a credit card on Dec. 31, but the committee itemizes those costs, including for lodging, travel and meals, as happening on the same day, according to CLC.

Masking the dates of the actual expenses makes it impossible to know whether Zinke was actually using the funds for legitimate purposes or to subsidize his personal lifestyle. For example, knowing those details would show whether Zinke used campaign funds to pay for lodging in New York City on the same day he interviewed for the Interior secretary job in Trump Tower, Fischer said. Trump Tower is a mere 10 - minute walk from the WestHouse Hotel where Zinke stayed.

The campaign also listed a $522.74 charge for lodging the Lime Inn in the U.S. Virgin Islands among the Dec. 31 payments, according to CLC’s complaint. POLITICO reported last week that Zinke was in the territory in November for an event with the Virgin Islands GOP, a political action committee that critics say uses questionable fundraising practices.

Also in question are a number of payments for events reported as occurring after Zinke was sworn in on March 1. His campaign paid $2,315.52 to the Capitol Hill Club on March 12 for "event catering" and $1,750 for "Senate catering" was sent to the same address over the next two months, according to campaign finance records cited in CLC's complaint.

Swift said in an email earlier this month that the "Senate catering" payments were to help the Montana delegation continue its weekly coffees for visiting constituents until Zinke's open seat was filled by Rep. Greg Gianforte. But she could not explain the Capitol Hill Club charge and did not respond to follow-up inquiries.

CLC also says Zinke's campaign failed to disclose the underlying donors for tens of thousands of dollars it received from the Zinke Victory Fund — a joint fundraising committee that disbursed funds among his campaign; his leadership political action committee, SEAL PAC; House Republicans’ campaign arm; and the Montana Republican State Central Committee. The group says this lack of transparency prevents the public from knowing whether people may have exceeded the legal $2,700 contribution cap.