A baby shower, a Greenbrier trip and much, much more questioned by House

A $15,091 trip to the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. Baby and weddings shower at a private club at a cost of $11,996. Phone bills totaling $13,525 over four years.

These are just a handful of more than $100,000 of campaign funds possibly improperly spent by U.S. Rep. John J. "Jimmy" Duncan Jr. and members of his family, according to a report released by the House Committee on Ethics on Wednesday. The committee confirmed an investigation was underway in early February, but today is the first detailing of the specifics of the investigation.

"There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Duncan’s campaign committee and leadership PAC expended funds that were not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes," states the report, which was compiled by the Office of Congressional Ethics. That office began its investigation of Duncan last August and in December recommended that the House pursue the matter, which it is still doing.

In releasing the report, the committee noted, "the mere fact of conducting further review of a referral, and any mandatory disclosure of such further review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee."

However, the list of possible improprieties found during the initial investigation, prompted at least in part by Post reporting last summer, is damning — and it could also affect the race to replace the retiring Congressman later this year.

In the 57-page summary, the OCE states Duncan used $24,904 of campaign funds on personal travel for himself, his family and his friends, including the December 2014 Greenbrier trip as a "thank you" to supporters after his reelection and $6,551 spent on family and friends attending President Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2017. At the Greenbrier campaign funds were spent on spa treatments, toys, ice skating, bowling, golf, candy and drinks in the resort's casino.

Two of those friends on both trips were Bandit Lites owner Michael Strickland and his girlfriend Allison Burchett, both of whom have been actively involved in attempting to discredit the congressional campaign of Allison's ex-husband, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, who is running for Duncan's seat. One of Strickland's sons accompanied the pair on the D.C. trip, where they shared a $1,050 steak dinner with the Duncans.

The report also says Duncan spent $23,914 for membership and private parties at Knoxville's tony Club LeConte. A number of events not included in that total were determined to be likely legitimate campaign-related expenses, but sums of $6,310.41 for bridal showers and engagement parties, $3,172.19 for baby showers, and $2,483.88 for other celebratory dinners are suspect. In a response to the report, Duncan stated the events were for "various women who had supported us in campaigns" and "in part to help me get votes from women."

"I'm a man. I need help with women in campaigns," Duncan continued.

As the Post reported last summer, the campaign has paid John Duncan III's cell phone bill since 2013, when he pled guilty to felony official misconduct and resigned from the Knox County Trustee office. The OCE report notes the phone and office internet bills have totaled $13,525, include a cell phone for John Duncan III's wife, and that he also uses the same phone for his work as a Realtor. The report also dings numerous questionable meal expenses by John, including an anniversary dinner with his wife at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and numerous meals at Aubrey's totaling $5,963. John Duncan told the investigators that his father said it was fine to take his wife out to dinner to discuss campaign issues.

The report also details $13,716 in "gift expenses," including thousands of dollars spent at Babies "R" Us, and $27,585 spent on tickets to sporting events and concerts, often doled out to lobbyists. It also found serious discrepancies with Duncan's PAC.

In a lengthy response to the report, Duncan and his lawyers denied any wrongdoing. They write that Duncan had to use family members as campaign employees because "Duncan had won by such large margins, it became increasingly difficult to get people excited about his campaign."

The letter also notes Duncan has reimbursed the campaign $11,369.93 to cover a few expenses "mistakenly paid," including a trip by one of his sons and his wife to Montana, golf outings and meals, and non-lodging expenses at the Greenbrier, which he "continues to assert were bona fide campaign expenses."