Courtesy of Republicans Against Kat Cammack I follow-- pretty closely-- the FL-03 congressional race, so I can't say that the report that came across my desk yesterday is as shocking for me as it might be for regular Florida voters. Now that the election is barrelling towards its tumultuous end, the report promises to bring a lot more drama into the mix and will heat up this north central Florida race in a way that sets it apart from any other House election in the country. An ethics complaint was filed by local attorney, Robert Rush, against outgoing Representative Ted Yoho by with the Office of Congressional Ethics against. I haven't been able to speak with Rush but keep in the back of your mind that he donated $100,000 to Florida GOP boss Joe Gruters through his PAC, Florida Conservatives United. Rush's ethics complaint states, "Representative Ted Yoho began sexual relations in 2014 with his then 24-year-old Chief of Staff, Kat Cammack. When she left Washington D.C., she returned to Florida where she continued to work and be paid by Rep. Yoho with public funds." The report goes on to explain Cammack’s consulting firm-- with only Yoho as the only client for most of its existence-- was paid $141,000 and continues being paid. The ethics complaint also names witnesses of the sexual misconduct including, Cammack, an inveterate and serial liar, Tyler Yoho-- Rep. Yoho’s son-- Yoho's wife Carolyn Yoho, former Yoho congressional aide Clay Martin, and possibly most importantly, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. After the sexual relationship became public-- at least in DC-- it was quickly swept under the rug. Cammack was demoted and sent home to Florida where she remained on the payroll of Yoho’s office while also being paid off through her shady new "consulting" firm, Grit Strategies, LLC. While Chief of Staff, Cammack received a salary of roughly $107,000. After being demoted from her role of Chief of Staff-- being sent back to Florida and now running for office to replace Yoho-- her salary is roughly $50,000 higher, bringing in $65,000 from her part-time position in Yoho’s office while bringing in another $76,000 from Yoho’s campaign through, Grit Strategies. Between 2017 and 2019, Grit Strategies made $126,000 from Yoho’s office. And yes, that’s money, possibly blackmail, much of which that comes straight from the taxpayers and the rest if it from campaign contributions that are supposed to be strictly regulated by the FEC. Let’s break this down, as Chief of Staff, Cammack made $107,000. As a part-time employee of Yoho’s office, while also owning a consulting firm with the only client being Yoho, Cammack raked in $141,000. Also, according to the FEC, there were contributions from Yoho’s office to Cammack’s husband’s lawn care company between 2014 and 2018 totaling $20,435. It’s unusual, at best. It’s illegal, at worst. The timeline is also extremely... thought-provoking. After the scandal was exposed, which according to the ethics report was in either late 2013 or early 2014, Cammack was demoted and immediately started her political consulting firm which Yoho-- and only Yoho-- immediately contracted. It’s beginning to look a lot like a cover-up, right? It’s beginning to look like hush money. In the film All The President’s Men, Hal Holbrook-- aka Deep Throat-- said during the investigation, "Follow the money."In this case, the money seems to point to an affair, a cover-up and a violation of the Congressional ethical guidelines. The complaint connects these suspicious, payments into a string of conspicuous instances that warrant deeper investigation. To top everything off, Yoho has yet to endorse Cammack and when asked, said, "In 2013 Kat Cammack was demoted from Chief of Staff in my Washington, DC office to Deputy Chief of staff and reassigned to the district in Florida for reasons not to be disclosed." What the hell does "for reasons not to be disclosed" refer to? If the ethics complaint and ethics investigation finds Yoho and Cammack guilty, they both must face consequences. Yoho will have broken, and continue to be breaking ethical guidelines under House Resolution 724, Section 6, which prohibits sexual relations between a House Member and staff, and H.R. 4494, which prohibits the use of public funds to pay settlements related to sexual misconduct. "Follow the money" because it will probably lead you down a rat hole of the biggest congressional scandal of 2020.
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