Democratic Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego is now facing a Department of Justice probe into campaign finance violations after a whistleblower came forward with accusations.
Gallego was revealed to have used campaign funds for various inappropriate and potentially illegal expenses, including luxury outings, family vacations to Disney World, child care, and Super Bowl tickets.
A source familiar with the Senator’s spending said he uses his campaign account as a “personal slush fund” in a statement to Politico. “He’s using campaign cash to live a luxury lifestyle,” they said.
Now, he's under federal investigation, according to Axios.
Per Axios, the DOJ is investigating potential campaign finance violations based on a "whistleblower complaint" out of California.
The Arizona Senator has close ties to California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid allegations of sexual assault. This makes the whistleblower's California origin more intriguing.
One of the campaign finance expenditures Gallego came under fire for was his 2023 Super Bowl attendance at a so-called fundraiser with Swalwell.
Gallego and Swalwell reportedly hosted what was billed as a fundraising event for the Swallego Victory Fund during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. With tickets costing $5,000 and a $ 1,000-per-head "pre-game brunch" at The Henry in Phoenix's affluent Arcadia neighborhood, the committee raised $56,505. However, the committee spent nearly $40,000 on the outing.
When asked about the Super Bowl last week, Gallego told The Gateway Pundit, "Well, I threw a fundraiser at the Super Bowl in my home state of Arizona. It was the start of a Senate campaign, and we needed to raise money," further claiming, "We did everything by the book."
Gallego went on to claim, "$10-15,000 is a lot when you're running against an incumbent like Kyrsten Sinema." Despite raising $63,777,612 during the 2024 election cycle, he doubled down, saying, "When you're starting off, and you're running as an underdog, $10-15,000 is a lot."
The new investigation comes after the Senate Ethics Committee on Friday dismissed a complaint filed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), alleging that Gallego engaged in "campaign finance violations and inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature."
The six-member panel, headed by Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) and Vice Chairman Chris Coons (D-DE), "did not find evidence" that Gallego violated federal law or Senate rules.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Luna previously accused Gallego of being involved in disgraced ex-California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell’s sexual escapades. Luna said in April that she had received “very disturbing” allegations about Gallego, claiming a woman wanted to "go on record about an incident that occurred between the two of them at the same time, and the event was sexual in nature, allegedly.”
This is a developing story.
The post JUST IN: Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego Under Investigation by DOJ for Campaign Spending After Senate Drops Sexual Misconduct Probe appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
