Despite promising the “most ethical Congress ever,” Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders have done little to address the growing scandal surrounding Rep. Robert Wexler (D., Fla.).
Wexler, the Obama campaign’s Florida co-chairman, was the subject of a major scandal in July, when Republican opponent Edward Lynch revealed to Fox News that the congressman didn’t actually live in the district he represents. Lynch has also raised concerns about Wexler’s campaign financing.
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Until recently, Wexler’s residence in Florida was listed as his mother-in-law’s house in Boca Raton, which is located in an over-55-only retirement community. The 47-year-old Wexler is married with three children and owns a house in Maryland, so it seems highly unlikely that he’s shared a residency in a Florida retirement community for years.
Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution demands that a representative, “when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.” Representatives are elected every two years, and the
South Florida Sun-Sentinel has reported that
for four years Wexler received tax breaks in Maryland for claiming his home there as his primary residence. Wexler eventually admitted he hadn’t had a home in his district in eleven years, and announced he would begin renting a place in the district.
But that’s not Wexler’s only problem. According to a
website set up by Lynch’s campaign, Wexler is in engaged in campaign-finance schemes that might amount to money laundering. Lynch even claims that the FBI is investigating. A spokesman for the FBI’s Miami field office told
National Review Online they had “no comment,” and
Ben Graber, an independent Democrat running a serious candidacy against Wexler and Lynch, has filed his own criminal complaint seeking an investigation.
Lynch’s accusations are as follows. Beginning July 23 — the day after Fox broke the news about the Democratic candidate’s questionable residency — and ending July 30, the Wexler campaign amended 25 Federal Election Commission reports going back to 2001. The amendments removed references to “Newbridge Securities” as a corporation from which the campaign had received funds, replacing Newbridge with a variety of different companies.
Several of the new companies, such as Capital Gains Consultants, Inc., were
not in business at the time
Wexler’s amended FEC report claims the funds were paid, according to documents Lynch provides. On July 25, in the midst of the Wexler campaign’s revisions to its old filings, Newbridge Securities and its owners were brought up on
charges by the Securities and Exchange Comission for securities violations.
