Istook, Loveless Pay FEC Fines

By Chris Casteel/Washington Bureau, The Oklahoman ~ Former U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook paid nearly $14,000 to the Federal Election Commission to settle fines stemming from an audit of his 2004 re-election campaign that found numerous violations.

Istook, the former Republican congressman from Warr Acres, paid $12,000 to the FEC out of remaining campaign funds and $1,800 in personal money, according to Istook and a report filed Tuesday with the commission.

Istook said his former campaign manager, Kyle Loveless, had paid another $800.

Istook, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 and now works at a conservative Washington think tank, said in an e-mail exchange, "I accept responsibility for the bookkeeping and reporting errors made by campaign staff. I devoted huge amounts of time going through voluminous records personally to make sure that every mistake was corrected.”

The fines came on top of $7,000 in reimbursements that Istook and Loveless had to make to the campaign for expenses that were deemed to be personal. In some cases, Istook said he mistakenly used a campaign credit card for personal items.

The matter has not officially been closed by the FEC.

Because of partisan squabbling over appointees, the commission only last week had enough members to meet.

Istook said the fines were part of an agreement reached by the campaign and FEC staff members.

The FEC report shows that $2,000 is owed to the Washington law firm hired by Istook's campaign to handle the matter.

Share |