Rep. Sanford Bishop Sets Up Legal Defense Fund
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) yesterday registered the Sanford Bishop Legal Expense Trust, as a Section 527 account with the IRS, to defray legal fees and other expenses. Amy Gilbert, CPA, of Gilbert & Wolfand, is the trustee. Campaign finance reports show Rep. Bishop loaned his campaign committee $40,664 on 12/14 so the committee could pay $40,664 to Greenberg & Traurig on 12/14 for ‘legal fees.” In a 2011 report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) raised questions regarding his awarding Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scholarships to family members and to employees’ relatives. Earlier questions had been raised about earmarked funds being paid to relatives. Bishop’s most recent personal financial disclosure report (covering 2011) lists a liability of $100,001 to $250,000 owed to Greenberg Traurig LLP for ‘attorneys fees.”