Prior to the November midterm elections, prominent House Democrats Maxine Waters and James Clyburn have continued to give their family members tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.
The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters, received four payments totaling $16,000 from her re-election campaign in July and September of this year.
Over the previous nearly two decades, Waters’ campaign has given more than $1.2 million to Karen Waters and her company, Progressive Connections, who have been running slate-mailing campaigns to support her mother’s re-election since 2003.
According to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) report made this week by Citizens for Waters , Karen Waters was paid a total of $16,000 this quarter for “slate mailer management fees” by the group.
Slate-mailing, when a consulting company is engaged to produce a pamphlet-like document that lists candidates or policy proposals and instructs voters on how to cast their ballots, is an unusual practice in federal elections .
The only federal lawmaker who purportedly used a slate-mailer operation for the 2020 general election was Waters, a Democrat from California.
Over the course of the congresswoman’s long career, other members of the Waters family have also stolen money from donors. In 2004, the Los Angeles Times revealed revealed that over the previous eight years, the Waters campaign had given more than $1 million to more family members.
James Clyburn, a top House Democrat, keeps giving thousands of dollars to family members.
The majority whip for the House, Clyburn, has a history of giving his family members campaign contributions. According to FEC records , his re-election campaign paid 49 Magnolia Blossom LLC $7,500 in “office rent” in August.
Walter A. Reed, who is married to Clyburn’s daughter Jennifer Clyburn Reed, is listed as the limited liability company’s registered agent by South Carolina business records . She is listed as a co-owner of the real estate investment firm by LittleSis.
Since March 2020, Clyburn has given the business almost $80,000 in campaign contributions.
The Friends of Jim Clyburn donated a total of $17,500 to Walter A.C. Reed, the campaign manager for Clyburn’s re-election, in five payments of $3,500 each between July and September. Additionally, the campaign gave Reed a $223.87 payment for “car repair” in September and a $500 “trip stipend” in August. Since last October, he has now received more than $75,000 from the Clyburn campaign.
According to the documents of his committee, the South Carolina Democrat’s campaign also gave checks totaling more than $20,000 to Angela Hannibal, another of his daughters, for canvassing, truck rentals, catering, and voter outreach between April 2018 and October 2019.
Cecil, Angela’s husband, also received funding from the campaign, pocketing over $70,000 between 2010 and 2012 for district and community outreach and travel expenses.
