ICYMI: Derrick Van Orden Faces Ethics Complaint After Bankrolling Trip to Insurrection on Campaign’s Dime

In case you missed it, Derrick Van Orden is once again coming under scrutiny for his involvement in the deadly attack on our Capitol on January 6.

First, Van Orden lied and tried to cover up that he was 'in a restricted area of Capitol grounds while the mob of Trump supporters were storming and entering the building. ' Now, Van Orden is facing a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint from Wisconsin Democrats after he appeared to illegally use campaign funds as a personal slush fund to bankroll his trip to the insurrection.

Van Orden's apparent misconduct has raised ethical concerns from multiple nonpartisan government watchdog groups including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Common Cause Wisconsin.

Read more below:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP congressional candidate used campaign cash to attend Trump D.C. rally, Democrats allege in FEC complaint

• Wisconsin Democrats are filing a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against a Republican congressional candidate alleging he used campaign funds to pay for a trip to Washington D.C. where he attended a rally that preceded the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
• The complaint filed Monday by Devin Remiker, senior elections director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, alleges Third Congressional District candidate Derrick Van Orden improperly used leftover money raised by his 2020 congressional campaign against U.S. Rep. Ron Kind to pay for hotel and airfare costs to Washington the week of the Jan. 6 attack.
• Van Orden was not immediately available Monday for an interview.
• Money raised by campaigns may be used only for campaign-related travel expenses, according to federal election laws. On Jan. 6, Van Orden's 2020 campaign was over and he had not yet launched his current campaign against Kind.
• 'Van Orden was and is free to use his personal bank account to travel around the country for any causes he deems worthy of his time. But, he is prohibited by the (Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971) from using his campaign funds for such personal activity,' the complaint says. 'His campaign account is not his personal travel slush fund.'[…]
• A recent report by The Daily Beast alleged Van Orden was closer to the attack than he suggested in the column, citing social media posts showing Van Orden in an area the news outlet characterized as being beyond police barricades.
• When asked in June whether he was in a restricted area at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, as alleged by The Daily Beast, Van Orden said the report was 'inaccurate.'[…]
• Democratic Party of Wisconsin executive director Nellie Sires called Van Orden's actions 'disturbing' and 'unethical.'
• 'Derrick Van Orden not only lied about his involvement in a deadly attack on our democracy, but he appears to have violated federal law by bankrolling his attendance as he stood on the Capitol grounds during the insurrection on his campaign's dime,' Sires said.

La Crosse Tribune: Wisconsin Dems file FEC complaint against Van Orden for travel expenses during insurrection

• The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has filed a complaint against GOP congressional candidate Derrick Van Orden for his use of campaign funds to travel to Washington D.C., where he attended the Jan. 6 protest-turned insurrection.
• The group filed the complaint with the Federal Elections Commission Monday, calling for an immediate investigation. Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, is currently running against longtime Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District.
• Recent reports have shown that Van Orden used leftover funds from his 2020 House campaign to visit the nation's capital during the insurrection, and claim that social media posts place him on Capitol grounds while Trump supporters stormed the building.[…]
• The reports have prompted questions on the legality of using surplus campaign funds for this purpose. Federal law requires campaign funds be used only for campaign-related travel, even if leftover from a previous campaign. Van Orden was not an active candidate in January.
• 'Derrick Van Orden not only lied about his involvement in a deadly attack on our democracy, but he appears to have violated federal law by bankrolling his attendance as he stood on the Capitol grounds during the insurrection on his campaign's dime,' DPW executive director Nellie Sires said in a statement.
• 'Van Orden's misconduct is disturbing, unethical and confirms he's unfit to represent Wisconsin,' Sires said.[…]
• But reports state that social media posts place Van Orden on the grounds of the Capitol well into the attack. The Tribune has reviewed one analysis of a social media post that appears to show Van Orden and a group seated next to the Olmstead Lanterns, which are located on Capitol grounds.
• The lanterns appear to be around 600 feet away from the steps of the Capitol building, according to a map review.

WKBT: Democratic Party accuses Van Orden of misusing campaign funds in FEC complaint

• The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Republican Derrick Van Orden of using campaign funds improperly to travel to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 6 riot.

• Van Orden ran against U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, in 2020 and has declared candidacy to run against Kind again in 2022 to represent Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District.

• The complaint against Van Orden, Van Orden for Congress and treasurer Mary Clancy, says he used funds donated to his campaign to travel to the Save America Rally, which turned violent after protesters stormed the federal Capitol Building while the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were confirming Joe Biden as president of the United States. More than 500 people have been arrested for their parts in the insurrection.

  […]

• The complaint alleges that Van Orden used campaign funds to pay for his trip to the U.S. capitol while he was not a candidate for office. The trip took place after Van Orden lost to Kind and prior to his announcement that he intended to run a second time.

• 'Van Orden was and is free to use his personal bank account to travel around the country for any causes he deems worthy of his time. But, he is prohibited by the Act from using his campaign funds for such personal activity,' says the complaint. 'His campaign account is not his personal travel slush fund.'

• The Democratic Party of Wisconsin argues that Van Orden traveled to Washington, D.C., as a private citizen, not a congressional candidate, and so was not allowed to use campaign funds for the visit.

• 'Here, Van Orden was not a candidate at the time of his trip, and the trip to Washington, DC seems to be an expense for a trip that existed irrespective of any federal campaign,' says the complaint.

Telegraph Herald: Dems file federal complaint against Van Orden over D.C. trip

• The Democratic Party of Wisconsin today filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding Republican Derrick Van Orden's 'apparent misuse of campaign funds' to travel to Washington, D.C., on the day of the Jan. 6 violent insurrection.

• Van Orden narrowly lost to U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., in the November election. In April, Van Orden announced he would again challenge Kind.

• About two weeks ago, the left-leaning Daily Beast reported that Van Orden 'wrote off roughly $4,000 in transportation and D.C. hotel costs around Jan. 6 for him, his wife and a campaign staffer,' despite losing the election and not yet declaring he would run again.

• 'Federal law prohibits former candidates from using surplus campaign funds for personal use, such as personal travel to attend a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, as it appears Van Orden did,' states a press release from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

• The Daily Beast story also stated that social media posts show Van Orden 'standing on a wall on the (U.S.) Capitol grounds that was inside the restricted area' during the violent insurrection on Jan. 6.

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