Sunday, November 8, 2015

What Marco Rubio Paid for With His Florida GOP Charge Card


http://news.yahoo.com/marco-rubio-paid-florida-gop-charge-card-191949731.html

Image result for rubio credit card cartoons

Movie tickets, Costco and grocery store runs, Walt Disney World trips, flowers and flights for his wife –- those are some of the charges listed in two years of statements for Marco Rubio’s American Express card issued by the Republican Party of Florida.
The charges -- which have surfaced along with questions about his personal finances as an issue for the GOP candidate in the 2016 campaign -- are listed in two years (2007-'08) of statements obtained by ABC News that have been widely circulated in Florida political circles since Rubio ran for Senate in 2010.
The Rubio campaign today released the records for the two other years (2005-'06) he had the card, along with a statement saying he paid all of his personal charges himself.
"Marco paid his personal charges directly to American Express," the statement said. "The Republican Party of Florida did not pay for any of Marco's personal expenses. Further, taxpayer funds were not used for any political or personal charges on the card."
ABC News has not been able to determine all of the charges that were personal, though Rubio’s campaign has identified some that were. Rubio wrote in his 2012 memoir "An American Son" that nearly all were for party business, "but from time to time a few personal expenses were charged to the card as well."
"Each time, I identified the charges and paid the costs myself, directly to American Express," he wrote. "The Republican Party of Florida didn’t pay a single one of them."
Among the charges on card, according to the statements are nine purchases from florists for a total of $709 over the two years and food and hotel charges, including almost $1,800 for food or stays at Walt Disney World properties. There are also hotel charges in his hometown of Miami, including $308.98 at the Conrad Hotel Atrio in February 2007, with a $260.91 food and beverage charge, and a $162.07 charge at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami in September 2007.
Some charges include travel and stays outside of Florida. An August 2007 trip to Boston included food and hotel charges adding up to $1,221. Rubio also charged $140 for two meals in New Hampshire on Jan. 6, 2008, two days before the 2008 New Hampshire primary.
In October 2007, the statements show travel for Rubio’s wife Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, including a $328.80 Delta Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. to Miami and $444.40 for a flight from Miami to Tallahassee. The following month there is a $723.60 United Airlines ticket for Rubio's wife from Miami to Denver to Aspen.
A Florida statute makes it legal for spouse travel to be paid for by campaign or political committee funds. This would make these flights permitted under Florida state law.
It was unclear which of these expenses were personal or GOP-related.
It's also unclear whether the Republican Party of Florida allowed personal charges on the card. In a story Friday, the Washington Post reported that in a 2010 policy manual, corporate cards were "'for RPOF business use only.” Some cardholders also were told verbally that they could only use the card for "party-related business."
The party did not respond to a request for comment about whether personal charges were allowed, but issued the following statement.
He also wrote that he "pulled the wrong card from my wallet to pay for pavers" and that his travel agent "mistakenly used the card to pay for a family reunion in Georgia—a single expenditure that represented 65 percent of personal charges on the card."
His campaign has said the movie ticket was a personal expense Rubio paid for himself and he should have used his other credit card.
Rubio charged a total of $160,000 to the card from 2005 through 2008, according to his book, and according to the Washington Post he paid off over $16,000 in personal expenses.
wow so many reasons why he used to card that he was clearly not suppose to use.  this sounds like the same thing they are trying to beat down Hillary with and the em,ails not suppose to use personal email but did and now they have spent millions trying to nail her to the wall, it will be interesting though not federally but party involved if they spend at least time talking about this "scandal"??????

maybe since the money was donated for party expense one of those donors could launch a civil investigation and charges on ethics or lack there of and maybe even fraud.  but that's for another night and another dream/s