SMRs and AMRs

Sunday, November 08, 2015

Inside Marco Rubio’s messy American Express statements

By Manuel Roig-Franzia, Sean Sullivan and Tom Hamburger November 7 at 7:56 PM, WashPost

Surging Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio sought to tamp down an escalating controversy Saturday, releasing previously secret records that detailed his use of a Florida Republican Party credit card for personal expenses.

The records, which cover a 22-month period in 2005 and 2006, combined with previously disclosed credit card statements, show that Rubio charged more than $22,000 in personal expenses to the card while the account incurred more than $1,700 in delinquency and late fees over a four-year period while he was in the Florida legislature.

Rubio has maintained that he paid out of his pocket for any personal expenses on the American Express card, which he used from 2005 to 2008. But he has been beset with questions from political rivals about his spending, and been criticized by opponents for his years-long refusal to detail personal spending and release statements for most of the first two years he had the card.

Rubio’s handling of the card gained renewed attention this past week after attacks by his 2016 presidential rival Donald Trump, who accused the Florida senator of being a “disaster” with his card and living beyond his means. The attack underscored the extent to which the credit card issue, and, more broadly, Rubio’s history of amassing high amounts of personal debt, stand out as potential political liabilities as his presidential campaign gains traction.

(More here.)

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