Watchdog: GOP Rep. Broun illegally concealed source of $300K campaign loan

A Washington watchdog called for an investigation Thursday of Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and his campaign committee for hiding a loan source of at least $300,000 for his 2007-2008 campaign.

Broun indicated to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that the $300,000 loan was a personal loan, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) stated. Broun later pointed to an unnamed bank that had loaned the money, after CREW found the representative would have made almost $29,000 in interest off of his campaign if it were a personal loan.

CREW filed a complaint with commission, calling for further inquiry and an audit of the representative's campaign committee.

“The problem, however, is that even if Rep. Broun’s new version of events is true, failing to tell the FEC you are financing your campaign in part with bank loans is illegal,” CREW Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement.

Candidates must report “collateral put to secure any loan” and “which bank lent the money, how much was lent, and when” to the FEC, the release states.

The watchdog specifically pushed for the commission to look into whether Broun received the money from a bank he was, at the time, a “part owner” of. The Carrollton, Ga., bank failed in 2010, according to CREW.

Broun's staff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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