The American Democracy Legal Fund has filed a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate whether Sen. Corey Gardner (R-CO) violated Senate rules by using official resources for campaign purposes.
Sen. Gardner violated the Senate’s prohibition on the use of official resources for campaign purposes when he appeared on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom to give an interview from the Capitol Building in support of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. At the beginning of the interview, the news anchor identifies Sen. Gardner as a “Rubio supporter” and states that he knew the Senator “came on the show to talk about Marco Rubio.” The anchor followed this introduction with questions about the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Sen. Gardner spent the entire segment discussing the Republican presidential primary and Sen. Rubio’s ability to attract supporters of Sen. Rand Paul. Senate ethics rules prohibit Sen. Gardner from using official resources to support Sen. Rubio’s presidential campaign, and he has violated the Senate’s prohibition on the use of official resources for campaign or political purposes.
The complaint is available below and in full with exhibits here. The American Democracy Legal Fund holds candidates for office accountable for possible ethics and/or legal violations. It was established by David Brock and is run by Brad Woodhouse.
February 18, 2016
Deborah Sue Mayer
Chief Counsel and Staff Director
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics
220 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Request for Investigation into Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Dear Ms. Mayer:
American Democracy Legal Fund (“ADLF”) respectfully requests that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics (the “Committee”) investigate whether Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) violated Senate rules by using official resources for campaign purposes.
On February 3, 2016, Sen. Gardner appeared on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom to give an interview in support of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign.[1] The interview took place in the Capitol Building.[2] At the beginning of the interview, the news anchor identifies Sen. Gardner as a “Rubio supporter” and states that he knew the Senator “came on the show to talk about Marco Rubio.”[3] The anchor followed this introduction with questions about the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.[4] The chyron during the interview also identified the senator as a “Marco Rubio Supporter.”[5] Sen. Gardner spent the entire segment discussing the Republican presidential primary and Sen. Rubio’s ability to attract supporters of Sen. Rand Paul.[6] That same day Sen. Rubio’s Colorado team sent a tweet praising Sen. Gardner for his interview in the Capitol building.[7]
Senate ethics rules prohibit Sen. Gardner from using official resources to support Sen. Rubio’s presidential campaign. The Senate Ethics Manual states that “[i]t is . . . inappropriate to use any official resources to conduct campaign or political activities.”[8] More specifically, the manual says that “Senate space . . . and resources generally should not be used to assist campaign organizations.”[9] Conducting an interview in the Capitol building for campaign or political purposes is thus prohibited under Senate ethics rules.
Sen. Gardner has violated the Senate’s prohibition on the use of official resources for campaign or political purposes. While the Senate Ethics rules recognize that official duties and resources may overlap with campaign activities, they require senators to ensure that such overlap is “de minimis in nature.”[10] Sen. Gardner’s actions were not de minimis; rather, the Senator’s advocacy for Sen. Rubio’s campaign was the sole purpose for his interview in the Capitol building. At the beginning of the interview, the anchor states that he knew Sen. Gardner “came on to talk about Marco Rubio.”[11] In no instance during the interview did Sen. Gardner discuss anything besides the Republican presidential primary or Sen. Rubio’s candidacy. Nor did the Senator attempt an effort to steer the interview away from campaign politics. Rather, Sen. Gardner discussed the implications of Sen. Paul suspending his presidential campaign and how many of his supporters would move to Sen. Rubio. Further confirming the sheer political nature of Sen. Gardner’s appearance, Sen. Rubio’s Colorado team praised the Colorado senator’s interview on Twitter. These facts establish that Sen. Gardner violated Senate ethics rules by conducting an interview for campaign and political purposes in the Capitol building.
Senate rules prohibit members from using official resources like spaces in the Capitol building for campaign purposes. For the above stated reasons, we request that the Committee commence an immediate investigation into Sen. Gardner’s conduct.
Sincerely,
Enclosures
[1] America Newsroom, Fox News (Feb. 3, 2016), available at Wayne Erickson, Cory Gardner on Rand Paul Dropping Out and Endorsing Marco Rubio, YouTube (Feb. 4, 2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KuE_MmiwbU.
[2] Id.
[3] Id. at :00–:07.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at :42–:49
[6] Id.
[7] @TeamMarcoCo, Twitter (Feb. 3, 2016, 8:07 AM), https://twitter.com/TeamMarcoCO/status/694915149350588416.
[8] Senate Ethics Manual 153.
[9] Id. at 150.
[10] Id. at 153; see also id. at 150–51.
[11] America Newsroom, supra note 1.