State GOP files elections complaint against McCaskill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The state Republican Party filed a complaint Monday with the Federal Election Commission against Sen. Claire McCaskill over what it says are numerous violations of the Federal Elections Campaign Act.

Party leaders on Monday said McCaskill failed to disclose more than $277,000 in activity in her 2006 campaign account. The complaint also cites her use of taxpayer funds for trips taken on a private jet to political events.

McCaskill amended her 2006 filings earlier this month to reflect the activity. But the GOP said it has uncovered more than 1,225 contributions that went unreported.

In a news release, the State Republican Party characterizes the violations as "serious." Last week during her weekly radio news conference, McCaskill said the amended filings were "nothing paid back, just bookkeeping, and filing the reports and doing the housekeeping necessary to shut down the committee." She said the discrepancies occurred when there "were some expenditures not reported in a timely manner and some receipts that were not reported in a timely manner."