In the intense House race for the New York Republican party, substantial amounts of campaign funds were allocated towards dining at steakhouses, alcohol, Uber rides, and a hostel situated abroad.
Campaign finance specialists talking to CNN stated that the investing – and how it was reported, frequently omitting essential details – sparked concerns that could lead to an ethics investigation. One of the most weak House incumbents, D’Esposito, is currently dealing with inquiries about this issue following The New York Times reporting last month that he hired both his lover and his longtime fiancée's daughter for his district office. He maintains his innocence of any unethical actions.
Federal Election Commission records from his initial campaign launch in the spring of 2022 through the most recent October quarterly filing revealed that the newly-elected Republican congressman's campaign spent around $102,000 on food and beverages, consisting of roughly $13,400 at steakhouses and approximately $7,700 at bars, as well as $2,000 at liquor stores. The campaign listed recipients as "Steak" on two instances – without specifying a restaurant, grocery store, or retailer.
The campaign also spent around $43,000 on Ubers since August 2022. One Uber transaction in July 2024 cost a little over $12,000.
D’Esposito's campaign representative Matt Capp categorized the five-figure Uber expense as an "accounting mistake of some sort."
In a questionable section of the filings, the campaign spent nearly $600 for a hostel in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Memorial Day this year. Photos from the congressman’s social media account exhibit D’Esposito marching in a local parade in his South Shore district during that weekend.
The D’Esposito campaign claimed the vacation expense "was for one House employee who traveled to that destination for both business and non-business reasons."
"The expense was mistakenly reported as a campaign expense despite the fact that the Congressman actually paid for the expense with personal funds," Capp stated. "The error is being rectified."
Justifying the roughly $102,000 spent on food and beverages, Capp deemed the amount "entirely justified" given the campaign "raised approximately $4 million" and such expenses are "connected with raising funds and administering political campaigns." Capp also mentioned that D’Esposito "maintains a year-round headquarters" and, as a result, incurs the cost of "feeding volunteers."
Campaigns are authorized to spend donor funds to pay for meals and travel for legitimate reasons, such as the candidate's responsibilities as a government official. It is a common practice for candidates to spend substantial sums at bars and restaurants when they are tasked with hosting fundraisers.
However, there isn't a clear relationship between much of the D’Esposito campaign's spending at these facilities and official fundraising events.
Capp defended the spending, stating "the allocation of funds is linked to raising funds and running political campaigns." The campaign did not provide any specifics relating to fundraising events or donor events for the cited food and beverage expenses.
"High expenditures for restaurants and expensive meals undoubtedly spark questioning. At the very least, you would anticipate a sitting congressperson to adequately report these. It is never acceptable to list the payee as 'Steak' on a report," said Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program.
"That's inappropriate behavior for a sitting member of congress, and is at the very least, lamentably careless," Weiner added.
A retired New York Police Department detective, D’Esposito is predominantly recognized nationally for being the first House member to demand the resignation of scandal-tainted then-Rep. George Santos in 2023. Santos was expelled from Congress in December of last year and recently admitted guilt to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges associated with, among other things, misusing campaign funds during his 2022 midterm campaign.
In a statement at the height of that scandal, D’Esposito labelled Santos a "disgusting liar" and urged "the bipartisan House Ethics Committee to promptly act, and remove the House of Representatives of this corrupt force."
Long Island Republican leaders, hurt by Santos’s collapse, portrayed D’Esposito as the moral face of a local party whose reputation was allegedly tarnished, they argued, by a single culprit. His district, situated in New York City suburbs, is deemed crucial for the GOP's hopes of preserving their House majority. Republicans secured four seats in New York in 2022, causing state Democrats to spiral into a tailspin.
D’Esposito is facing a challenge from Democrat Laura Gillen in a rematch of their 2022 election, which he won, flipping the seat, "by fewer than 10,000 votes."
The FEC, an organization in charge of enforcing campaign finance regulations, keeps records of donor contributions and spending by campaigns and outside political groups. Candidates, even after entering office, are obligated to disclose their major financial contributors and significant expenditures.
According to federal documents, D’Esposito’s campaign paid approximately $156,000 in unitemized credit card payments this cycle. The FEC mandates that campaigns must itemize disbursements exceeding $200, including the vendor's name, address, the purpose of the transaction, the date, and the payment amount.
D’Esposito’s spokesman stated that the total number of credit card transactions "relates to expenditures under $200." This implies a minimum of 780 transactions under $200 were made by the campaign.
The campaign did not disclose any payments to permanent staff, opting instead to rely on external consultants to oversee its political operations, including campaign strategy, digital spending, compliance, and fundraising.
One exception in this scenario was Robert Gies, serving as D'Esposito's head of staff on Capitol Hill. Gies, a long-term confidant of D'Esposito, received $5,900 for "political strategy advice" in early July 2024, as shown in a government report.
The campaign also provided Gies with a $7,100 "expense reimbursement" in February. The report failed to clarify what specific expense or cost this amount was covering.
When asked about the reason behind the reimbursement, Capp, the spokesperson, did not provide a clear response, merely stating that the chief of staff had been compensated for "political strategy advice," separate from his work for the House of Representatives.
Saurav Ghosh, the Campaign Legal Center's manager of federal campaign finance reform, commented to CNN that while he lacked enough details about D'Esposito's filings to claim a law violation, "Frequently, federal politicians misuse campaign funds to pay for travel, dining, and leisure activities, disguising them under the labels of 'fundraising' or 'public interaction.'"
Ghosh continued, "Congress and the FEC must revise the prohibition on personal use and enforce it rigorously to curb such misuse."
The concerns over D'Esposito's campaign spending have led some to question whether it could potentially escalate into an ethics investigation, given the political context. The opacity in reporting certain expenses, such as the $13,400 spent at steakhouses and the $2,000 at liquor stores listed as simply "Steak," has raised eyebrows.
The politics surrounding campaign finance are under scrutiny once again, as the transparency of reporting and the use of funds are key elements in maintaining public trust. The FEC's role in enforcing these regulations becomes increasingly important in situations like D'Esposito's, where unclear reporting and potential misuse of funds can spark scrutiny and concerns.
