Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry will reimburse the owners of a private jet he used for campaign travel tens of thousands of dollars after a New York Times investigation found Perry may have underpaid the jet owners for use of their planes, a violation of campaign finance law.
Outside general counsel Bill Canfield told the Times that the campaign reimburse the owners of fewer than 10 planes money in the amount of “five but not six figures” and amend their Federal Election Commission filings.
The question of reimbursement arose because of recent changes in campaign finance regulations that require presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners what it would have cost to rent a charter. Previously, reimbursement rates were set according to the cost of a first class ticket.
The Times estimated that Perry’s campaign underpaid a supporter, businessman Brian D. Pardo, by reimbursing him $21,000 for use of his Cessna Citation X. Equivalent charter flights would have cost closer to $60,000, the Times calculated.
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