{"id":2012228,"date":"2023-08-25T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T19:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-sanford-bishop-splurges-at-swanky-private-golf-club-tied-to-ethics-investigation\/"},"modified":"2023-08-25T15:54:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T19:54:08","slug":"democrat-sanford-bishop-splurges-at-swanky-private-golf-club-tied-to-ethics-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-sanford-bishop-splurges-at-swanky-private-golf-club-tied-to-ethics-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Sanford Bishop spends lavishly at exclusive golf club under ethics probe."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-sanford-bishop-splurges-at-swanky-private-golf-club-tied-to-ethics-investigation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2012228&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Democratic Congressman&#8217;s Controversial Spending Habits at a Private Golf Resort<\/h2>\n<p>A senior Democratic congressman has come under \u2062scrutiny \u2063for his campaign&#8217;s spending at an exclusive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-to-host-sound-of-freedom-screening-next-week\/\" title=\"Trump to Host 'Sound of Freedom' Screening Next Week\">private golf resort<\/a>, despite \u2062previous ethics investigations. Records \u2064reveal that Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA) directed $36,800 in campaign funds to Green Island Country Club in June for various services, including facility usage, golf packages, and\u200c catering.<\/p>\n<p>This latest payment\u2063 to the \u2062Columbus, Georgia\u200c club raises concerns, as the Office of Congressional Ethics found in 2020 that Bishop had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-sanford-bishop-splurges-at-swanky-private-golf-club-tied-to-ethics-investigation\/\" title=\"Democrat Sanford Bishop spends lavishly at exclusive golf club under ethics probe.\">potentially violated federal\u2062 law<\/a> by spending over $90,000 at the\u2064 establishment and others on fuel, golf expenses, meals, travel, tuition, and entertainment.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Campaign donations should not be used as a \u200ctool for members of Congress to get access \u2064to swanky country clubs,&#8221; says Tom\u2062 Jones,\u2063 president\u2064 of the \u2062American Accountability Foundation, \u2063a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-nations-second-largest-teachers-union-influenced-cdc-on-school-reopening-guidelines-delayed-return-to-classrooms\/\" title=\"Report: Nation\u2019s Second Largest Teachers Union Influenced CDC On School Reopening Guidelines, Delayed Return To Classrooms\">conservative watchdog group<\/a>. &#8220;If they want to hobnob with rich \u200bneighbors, \u200bthat should come out\u200b of their own pocket.\u2062 Bishop&#8217;s continued use of funds at this country club urges investigation by \u2063the \u2064FEC.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Since 2013, Bishop&#8217;s campaign\u200c has paid over $368,000 to Green Island Country Club, \u2064including membership fees and fundraising-related outings. The congressman admitted wrongdoing to OCE investigators after the nonpartisan entity \u2064issued its findings on Bishop&#8217;s\u2064 spending\u200c habits. In July 2020, Bishop reimbursed his campaign over $66,300, \u2062and the House Ethics Committee approved \u200ca further\u2062 investigation \u200binto his potential misuse of taxpayer and campaign\u2064 funds.<\/p>\n<p>Green Island Country Club, established in 1962, offers a range of amenities, including a Tiki Bar style Snack Shack, eight tennis\u2064 courts, and five pickleball courts. The resort also features \u200ba\u200c fitness center equipped with top-of-the-line weight machines, free weights, and Matrix equipment.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Members of Congress\u200d should not \u200bonly avoid compromising situations but also the appearance of compromising situations,&#8221; says CEO Peter Flaherty \u2062of the National Legal and Policy \u200cCenter, another right-leaning watchdog. &#8220;I think the congressman&#8217;s donors would have \u200bbeen disappointed if they found out what he was actually doing with\u200d their contributions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The June 2023 payment from Bishop&#8217;s campaign to Green Island\u2063 Country Club was\u2063 earmarked for fundraising purposes. Previous payments in 2022 and 2021 were also made for\u200b facility \u200dusage, golf packaging, and catering. According to a spokesman for the\u2064 congressman, the 2021 payment covered\u2064 costs for the Sanford Bishop Golf\u200d Classic, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrat-facing-ethics-investigation-spends-campaign-cash-at-private-golf-club\/\" title=\"Top Democrat Facing Ethics Investigation Spends Campaign Cash at Private Golf Club\">specific campaign fundraising event held annually<\/a> at the club.<\/p>\n<p>Bishop justified his\u200d campaign payments at\u2064 the resort by highlighting the\u2063 opportunity to mingle with influential individuals, such as \u2062CEOs and retired executives. However, he also admitted to using campaign funds\u2062 to \u2062subsidize \u200bhis membership initiation fee in 2014, believing it was permissible. Additionally,\u200c an unnamed Green Island official revealed that some of the club&#8217;s amenities are not accessible to women.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;He worked cooperatively with \u2064the Office\u2062 of\u200d Congressional Ethics on the issues raised\u2064 about his campaign&#8217;s finance \u200dreports and took\u200c immediate corrective action,&#8221; says \u200dBishop&#8217;s spokesman. &#8220;The Congressman proactively reimbursed his campaign and took\u200d other remedial measures. He has retained the services of an \u2064experienced compliance consultant and outside law firm to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-sec-may-have-just-killed-tech-innovation-in-america\/\" title=\"Biden's SEC May Have Just Killed Tech Innovation in America\">ensure full compliance<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bishop acknowledges the mistakes made by his campaign and recognizes \u2064the need for better oversight. However, neither Bishop&#8217;s campaign, the House Ethics Committee, \u2062nor the OCE have responded to requests for \u2064comment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click here<\/a> to read more from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Records reveal that Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), a senior Democratic congressman, allocated $36,800 from his campaign funds in June for &#8220;facility usage, golf packages, and catering&#8221; at Green Island Country Club. This decision was made despite his previous involvement at the club being associated with an ongoing ethics investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2012229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2012228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2012228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2012228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2012228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2012228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}