A federal agency has closed its investigation of a U.S. Representative for using campaign funds and his leadership PAC funds for his family’s trip to Scotland, and his daughters expenses to promote her business and her graduation party.  

The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) closure of Matter Under Review (MUR) #6511 against Rep. Robert Andrews , D-N.J., was disclosed in a letter  to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), who had filed the original complaint.  

CREW had alleged Andrews had used his campaign funds and leadership PAC funds for non-campaign or personal use. The FEC found $13,540 spent on expenses for a family trip to Scotland involving a gift at Bloomingdales and $7,725 for rooms at the Balmoral Hotel; $16,575 for air tickets paid by his PAC; expenses for his teenage daughter’s travel with him to promote her show business career; $20,159 for a June 2011 party celebrating his career and his daughter’s high school graduation; and more than $12,500 in contributions to theaters where his daughter performed.  

The letter stated because Andrews paid the money back for his family’s trip to Scotland, and the other expenses were partially campaign related, the FEC used its prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the complaint.  

View CREW’s comments  on the dismissal of the complaint, and the FEC dismissal letter , including its factual and legal analysis. The public completed MUR file has not yet been made available by the Commission.