The Federal Election Commission is investigating a PAC started by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for providing incomplete information of donors and potentially misclassifying spending, according to a report Tuesday.
The FEC is asking SEAL PAC to provide more details about its direct mail spending and to account for a $200,000 discrepancy, Politico reported, citing a campaign finance report.
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, started the PAC after winning a House seat representing Montana in 2014.
Some of the problems identified by the FEC occurred after Zinke’s relationship with the PAC ended when he joined President Trump’s Cabinet in March.
The FEC wants SEAL PAC to explain how its bank account nearly doubled in size on New Year’s Day.
It also asks the PAC to provide more information on contributions from two people who gave more than the $5,000 contribution limit per election cycle. Most of those donations came after Zinke left the PAC.
Zinke’s campaign activities already have faced scrutiny. He has helped raise money for political operatives in Washington that conservatives now accuse of misleading donors.
The interior secretary has donated to groups linked to Scott Mackenzie, who runs a Virgin Islands GOP political action committee that hosted Zinke at a fundraiser in March.
Many Republicans have stopped associating with Mackenzie, an investigation by Politico found, because critics say he operates “scam PACs” that generate small donations from conservative voters and spend the money on overhead and consultants.
But Zinke has continued his relationship with firms linked to Mackenzie.
The revelations come as Zinke is being investigated by the Interior Department’s internal watchdog and the independent Office of Special Counsel for actions that seem to mix politics and official business, such as the use of private chartered flights to speak with a professional sports team in Las Vegas.
