Robertson Bid Runs Afoul of Audit
Television evangelist Pat Robertson’s 1988 presidential campaign exceeded state and national spending limits by more than $2 million and got deals on a computer and a jet that amounted to prohibited contributions, government auditors alleged Tuesday.
The auditors recommended that the Federal Election Commission order the campaign to repay $338,632 to the government for exceeding the spending limits, which are imposed if a candidate accepts public financing for his campaign.
It also recommended that Robertson repay another $50,000 to the government for expenditures that lacked proper documentation or were determined to be “non-qualified campaign expenses.”
The FEC is scheduled to consider the report Thursday, nearly four years after Robertson withdrew from the campaign. He had finished behind the eventual nominee, then-Vice President George Bush, in several Republican primaries.
Attorney Gordon Robertson, the evangelist’s son, said the campaign intends to contest the audit.
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