Loveless and Istook Pay Hefty Fines

Istook pays nearly $14,000 in fines to FEC


Associated Press - July 16, 2008 1:25 AM ET


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Former Oklahoma Congressman Ernest Istook has settled some fines stemming from an audit of his 2004 re-election campaign.


Istook says he paid the Federal Election Commission nearly $14,000 -- 12,000 out of remaining campaign funds and $1,800 in personal money. His ex-campaign manager, Kyle Loveless, paid an $800 fine.


Istook said the fines were part of an agreement reached by the campaign and FEC staff members. The FEC report shows that $2,000 is owed to the Washington law firm hired by Istook's campaign to handle the matter.


He and Loveless already had to reimburse the campaign $7,000 for expenses that were deemed to be personal. Among other errors were taking prohibited corporate donations and failure to disclose more than $26,000 in last-minute gifts.


Istook told The Oklahoman's Washington bureau that he accepts responsibility for the bookkeeping and reporting errors his campaign staff made.


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