Sale of US interior secretary's motor home raises questions

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's dormant congressional campaign committee recently sold a 2004 motor home at a steep discount to an old friend in the Montana Legislature. But a seemingly ordinary transaction between friends, when seen through the optics of stringent campaign finance laws, can raise a bevy of questions - especially when those friends are politically high-powered and well-connected. After learning about the transaction, campaign finance watchdogs are raising a $25,000 question: Why would Zinke's campaign committee sell the Kountry Star Freightliner for half the price of its apparent $50,000 market value? It's a head-scratcher for Lawrence Noble, a senior director of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan group of election law experts. "If the asset is worth $50,000, and they sell it to somebody for $25,000 — it's the equivalent of them giving $25,000 to that person," Noble said. The Federal Election Commission prohibits political committees to sell assets, including campaign vehicles, below fair market value. It's akin to a gift, Noble said. "The campaign cannot give a $25,000 gift to somebody," he said. The treasurer of Zinke's congressional campaign referred questions about the sale to campaign directors, both of whom declined to comment. Heather Swift, communications director for the Interior Department who also served as Zinke's congressional and campaign spokeswoman, did not respond to requests for an interview...more