Rick Perry’s campaign team is under the spotlight over the use of a private plane hired from a Texas businessman who is currently being investigated by federal securities regulators.
However, it has emerged that hiring a similar plane from a charter company would have cost as much as three times more than what Mr. Pardo received from the Perry camp. As a result, Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations may have been broken.
Indeed, if Governor Perry was allowed to benefit from a ‘special rate’, this could be equivalent to receiving an unreported campaign donation. In other words, if the Perry team only paid, say, $20,000 for the use of the jet while the cost of hiring a similar aircraft from a charter company amounted to $60,000, it could be interpreted that Rick Perry’s campaign had benefited from an undeclared $40,000 donation. It appears that, in this case, the fee paid to Mr. Pardo was based on the number of passengers, and not on the true cost of the flight as required by the FEC.
After initially confirming that the transaction was “in full accordance with federal election laws”, Perry’s team confirmed that they would now consult a lawyer who is well versed in campaign law and who is also familiar with the aviation business. The Governor’s team indicated that, if advised to do so, they would alter the FEC report accordingly.
Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Scott Thomas described the FEC rules as “tough.”