Excerpt: "Schock's spending, which was always a subject of internal GOP chatter, has come under scrutiny since The Washington Post revealed last week that he had his Capitol Hill office redecorated to resemble 'Downton Abbey.'"



Congressman Aaron Schock. (photo: Greg Powers/GregPowers.us)

Congressman's Lavish Spending Brings Schock and Awe

By Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer, Politico

His “Downton Abbey” decor fits a pattern of spending on resort hotels, charter flights and a personal photographer.

e charters private planes and employs a personal photographer. In Aspen, Colorado, he stays at the Little Nell, a five-star resort near the ski slopes. In Las Vegas, he prefers the pricey Wynn hotel. While in Vail, Colorado, and San Francisco, it’s the Four Seasons. In Miami Beach, he’s sampled the Delano, Fontainebleau and the exclusive Soho Beach House. And in Beverly Hills, California, he’s tried both the Peninsula and the Beverly Wilshire.

Illinois GOP Rep. Aaron Schock raises a lot of money, for himself and other Republicans — he had $3.2 million in the bank at the end of December. And through his web of campaign committees, the 33-year-old lawmaker also spends lavishly.

Schock’s spending, which was always a subject of internal GOP chatter, has come under scrutiny since The Washington Post revealed last week that he had his Capitol Hill office redecorated to resemble “Downton Abbey.”

In addition to staying at expensive hotels, Schock also has spent more than $90,000 in campaign dollars on private air charters, an unusually high sum for a rank-and-file member of the House. His allies say it’s necessary so he can quickly hop between Republican districts across the country. House financial records also show that he has spent thousands of dollars in taxpayer money on private planes, which his office says helps him get around his Illinois district.

Schock’s campaign has also purchased a $74,000 Chevrolet Tahoe to help get him around back home in Illinois, in addition to a $27,000 Ford.

To keep track of all his comings and goings, Schock has hired a personal photographer. Jonathon Link, a former Dallas-area wedding photographer, now snaps shots for Schock, and both his campaign and taxpayers pick up the bill.

To pay for all of this, Schock is constantly fundraising, and he has repeatedly attended high-profile events. On Jan. 31, 2014, Schock cut a check to the NFL for more than $10,000 to cover the cost of Super Bowl tickets. In April 2013, Schock spent $3,320 on tickets to the CMA Country Music Awards. Instead of holding fundraisers at golf courses — as dozens of other Republicans do — Schock insiders say he prefers sporting and music events.

And to keep track of this burgeoning political operation, Schock has spent more than $200,000 on lawyers since 2011, including $91,369 in the past two years. He has come under the scrutiny of the Office of Congressional Ethics for allegedly soliciting a contribution for a super PAC above the legal limits. Schock has denied any wrongdoing.

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The campaign filings — analyzed by POLITICO — help illustrate a pattern of aggressive spending by Schock. The issue was first raised by the Post, which reported his office had been decorated in the theme of “Downton Abbey,” the British drama about early-20th-century English aristocrats, complete with red-painted walls, an elaborate mirror and a “gold-colored wall sconce with black candle.” USA Today then disclosed that Schock had previously shelled out “tens of thousands” in taxpayer dollars on office renovations, leather furniture and amenities like granite countertops.

Schock later said he would personally cover the cost of his “Downton Abbey” renovation.

Ben Cole, one of his top advisers, also resigned last week after it was revealed he had made controversial remarks about black people on Facebook.

Speaking in Peoria on Friday, Schock said the office renovation has made him “the punching bag” for the press.

“I’m the same person today that I was seven years ago when I was elected,” Schock insisted. “But when you’re in this environment, all is fair.”

None of this spending is illegal. Lawmakers are free to spend their political money as they wish, as long as they are not enriching themselves. And Schock, in an email, defended his spending. He said his cars “are used more often by the campaign than him personally, for such activities as distributing campaign yard signs, driving folks to parades, helping transport larger signs, etc.”

The pricey hotels are all “campaign-related expenses,” his office said. And Schock aides defended employing a full-time photographer; “what is spent on photographers is in line with what is raised as a result.”

“Rep. Schock has been consistently named one of the top fundraisers for the Republican Party,” a spokesman said in a statement. “Last year alone he was one of the top five fundraisers for the party in the House. Rep. Schock raised $2 million personally for the [National Republican Congressional Committee] last year, $15.2 million for the March Dinner and gave out half a million from his leadership PAC to other Members and Congressional candidates, obviously to raise that amount of money, he must spend resources as well and incur overhead costs. These trips are for fundraising events around the country or campaigning for other candidates. For example, in the month of October, he went to 40 different congressional districts.”

The hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees are “a matter of business practice to ensure he is in compliance with all applicable federal laws,” the statement added.

Schock certainly wants to be a high-profile player in Washington and back home in Illinois. The ambitious Republican was elected at 27, and six years later, he has a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He has eyed statewide office and once toyed with challenging NRCC Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon.

He is a prodigious fundraiser, and pulled in $2.5 million from 2013 to 2014, and has given and raised a total of $2 million to the NRCC last year. Schock also funnels hundreds of thousands of dollars to his Republican colleagues, helping them win reelection and netting him political chits.

In 2014, Republican leaders tapped Schock to chair the NRCC’s March Dinner, the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year. He raised more than $15 million for that event, setting a record.

But Schock has been equally well known for showing off his enviable lifestyle on social media. His Instagram account details his globetrotting, including surfing in Hawaii and meeting the pope. He posted a photo of his hang gliding in the Andes with the caption, “serenity in the skies of Mendoza.”

When Schock’s in Washington, his campaign accounts show that he spends money at a roster of typical D.C. fundraising spots including Fiola, Ristorante Tosca, the Capital Grille and Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab.

He’s dropped tens of thousands of dollars at pricey hotels and restaurants in Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Vail and Aspen. In one trip to Las Vegas, he spent $5,000 at the Wynn. He also cut checks to the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, Vail and Washington.

Schock has also taken several privately funded trips, according to the website LegiStorm, which tracks these expeditions. Schock went to India — Bangalore and New Delhi — during 2013, with an aide. He flew business class and stayed in the Taj Hotel, according to a filing. The trip cost more than $10,000, and was paid for by the National Indian American Public Policy Corp.

He also has taken privately funded trips to Havana; Barcelona, Spain; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Turkey, according to trip records.