Michele Bachmann's Fundraising Under Scrutiny

She’s no longer a member of Congress, or a candidate, but House Tea Party Caucus founder Michele Bachmann continues to raise money as if she’s campaigning. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

…the former Minnesota congresswoman is still raising cash and spending lavishly, dropping $300 on limousines in New York right around Thanksgiving and staying last fall at the luxurious L’Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills, where most rooms go for $400 a night or higher.

Records show Bachmann for Congress spent roughly $25,000 in the last three months of 2014 on airline tickets, a private club membership and pricey dinners in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and New York. Her campaign even paid $470 to renew the plates on a vehicle in St. Paul last December — weeks before she stepped down from office.

The piece paints a picture of fiscal hypocrisy:

A fierce advocate for balancing the federal budget, Bachmann has consistently carried campaign debt.

Records show that she has chipped away at her debts to campaign vendors, mostly accountants and telemarketing companies, gradually paying down the $30,328 she owed in March, 2014 to about $1,900 at the end of last year. But she accrued more debt early this year and owed about $4,000 to vendors, according to April filings.

Bachmann has $1.6 million cash on hand.

Whether Bachmann’s fundraising and money management proves atypical for a recently retired member of Congress remains an open question. One thing is for sure, even after leaving office, Michele Bachmann still attracts criticism from her many detractors.