Democrat Rep. Gutierrez Pays Wife $400K from Campaign Donations


Politicians often make themselves rich through shady backroom deals — but Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez isn’t just making himself wealthy. He’s trying to make his wife rich, too.

Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) has disbursed tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to his wife this year, bringing her total compensation to more than $400,000 since she first appeared on his campaign’s payroll.

Gutierrez, who was first elected to Congress in 1992, recently grabbed headlines for saying that Democrats would “eliminate” Trump as president if they take back the House of Representatives. It appears the one thing Gutierrez won’t eliminate anytime soon is the lucrative campaign payments to his wife.

Rep. Gutierrez’s wife, Soraida Gutierrez, was a registered lobbyist in the state of Illinois from 2003 to 2009 before joining Gutierrez for Congress in 2010. Since this time, Soraida has been generously compensated for acting as the campaign’s office manager, treasurer, and fundraiser. Soraida has also been the top recipient of cash from the committee on numerous occasions since she began receiving payments from her husband’s campaign.

From Jan. 1 to June 30, Gutierrez’s campaign has made $30,000 worth of payments to Soraida, Federal Election Commission filings show. During this time, Gutierrez’s committee reported $72,000 in expenditures.

Soraida is paid in part for providing fundraising services for the campaign. The committee has raised only $10,505.02 since January—$1,400 of which has been refunded—giving the committee $9,105.02 in net contributions this cycle. The committee has $118,669 on hand.

Make no mistake, a politician paying money to his wife is the same as pocketing it for himself. At the end of the day, the money ends up in the same household, being spent by the man who is legally forbidden to take the cash in the first place.

Source: Free Beacon



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