Sen. Reid’s Campaign Funds Paid Staff Bonus

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has been using campaign donations instead of his personal money to pay Christmas bonuses for support staff at the Ritz-Carlton where he lives in an upscale condominium. Federal election law bars candidates from converting political donations for personal use.

Reid’s office said his lawyers had approved the payments but he nonetheless was personally reimbursing his campaign for the $3,300 he spent.

Reid also announced he was amending his ethics reports to Congress to more fully account for a Las Vegas land deal that allowed him to collect $1.1 million in 2004 for property he hadn’t personally owned in three years.