While Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke for 25 hours on the Senate floor last week, a series of emails with contribution links and links to his campaign store were sent out, according to an ethics complaint from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.
FACT, a conservative nonprofit watchdog group, says that violates Senate ethics rules that prohibit tying an official Senate action with solicitations for campaign contributions.
Booker’s speech denouncing the Trump administration’s positions on deportation and other policies began on March 31 and continued into April 1. He alerted followers on X he was about to begin the speech.
Then, during and immediately after the speech, his campaign and the Democratic National Committee sent several email and text messages, which are included in the complaint. FACT references six separate campaign messages.
One of the messages was sent twice, first on April 1 at 11:19 p.m. and again at 3:11 a.m. on April 2, after the talkathon had ended, saying, “If you were inspired by what you saw today, split a contribution between Cory Booker and the DNC,” the ethics complaint says. That was followed by a “contribute” link.
Another message, at 2:52 p.m. on April 1, said, “[H]e’s been on the floor of the United States Senate speaking all night, and he’s still going.” The message included a request to sign up for Booker’s campaign list and a link to his campaign store.
Other messages asked recipients to sign up for the Booker campaign list or provided a link to the Booker campaign store.
“The ethics rules draw a clear line between official government business and campaign activity, and it is important these rules are enforced to prevent Congress from simply becoming a venue for campaigning,” FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold said in a public statement. “Specifically, with respect to fundraising, it is not allowed to be tied to any official action a senator undertakes, including a speech on the Senate floor.”
The Senate ethics rules state “every senator always must endeavor to avoid the appearance that the senator, the Senate, or governmental process may be influenced by campaign contributions.”
Spokespeople for Booker’s office did not respond to inquiries for this article on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Arnold sent a seven-page complaint to Senate Ethics Committee Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., and Vice Chairman Chris Coons, D-Delaware.
“The public rightly expects its representatives to exercise impartial judgment in performing their duties, completely independent of the prospect of personal or political gain,” the ethics complaint says, adding:
In essence, by employing this tactic, Sen. Booker indicates to potential contributors that his official actions can be influenced by campaign contributions. This is exactly the kind of appearance of impropriety that the Senate ethics rules aim to prohibit.
Moreover, this tactic dangerously incentivizes other senators to follow suit and engage in similar performances on the Senate floor with the aim of raising campaign funds and building email lists/supporter lists for future elections.
