us-regionselectionsRep. Ted Lieu is facing scrutiny over donating more than $50,000 of his campaign dollars to his alma mater as his son prepares to enter the school for his freshman year.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that Lieu gave $51,046 to his alma mater, Stanford University, between February 2016 and June 2018.
Lieu’s son is about to start at Stanford as a freshman in the class of 2025 according to his Instagram bio, prompting scrutiny of the congressman’s donations and references to the school’s infamous “Varsity Blues” scandal.
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The nearly decade-long scandal saw William Singer fraudulently inflate test scores and bribe college admissions officials — such as at Stanford — for the kids of rich parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.
Lieu faced scrutiny for the donations after they were brought up again online by a Twitter user, with the account of the user who posted screenshots of the filings later being suspended by Twitter.
According to the FEC, campaigns are allowed to give financial contributions to charitable organizations, but the money “cannot be used for purposes that personally benefit the candidate.”
A spokesperson for the Center for Responsive Politics, which runs the campaign finance watchdog organization OpenSecrets, told Fox News that campaigns are legally allowed to donate funds to colleges and universities, but it is more common with outgoing lawmakers.
“Campaigns can and do donate to charities and universities from their campaign funds, but it’s more common when a member is retiring and has leftover cash,” the spokesperson said in a Thursday email.
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It is unclear if Lieu’s contributions to the university influenced Stanford’s decision to admit his son.
Neither Lieu’s campaign nor Stanford University responded to Fox News’ requests for comment.