RNC expense report renews criticism about Steele's spending

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Republican National Committee and its chairman, Michael S. Steele, were engulfed in controversy again Monday after new financial reports showed that the party used tens of thousands of donor dollars for luxe hotels, private jets and other questionable expenditures.

The disclosures, some of which stem from Steele's travels to California in January and a subsequent RNC retreat to Hawaii, reignited criticism from fellow Republicans who are troubled by the chairman's financial stewardship of the GOP's main committee since he took over more than a year ago.

Although it is not unusual for either party to spend money in tony settings to cater to wealthy donors, the RNC's latest filings captured widespread attention for one expenditure at a risque nightclub: $1,946.25 for "meals" at Voyeur in West Hollywood, which features topless dancers wearing horse bridles and other bondage gear while mimicking sex acts.

The committee fired an unidentified staff member as a result of the disbursement and emphasized Monday that Steele had not visited the club and was not aware of the expenditure. The reimbursement went to Erik Brown, a Southern California GOP donor who has spent time with Steele in the past and whose marketing firm has earned more than $160,000 from the RNC and other Republican committees, according to campaign disclosure records.

(More here.)