Reid’s money troubles

Washington, D.C.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid admitted this week that he used campaign funds to pay holiday tips at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, where he owns a condominium. Federal law bars using campaign funds to pay personal expenses. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said his lawyers had approved the payments, and that he would reimburse the $3,300 he paid out from 2002 to 2005. Reid also said he would amend his financial disclosure statements to give a fuller accounting of a controversial land deal. Reid owned a parcel of Nevada land until 2001, when he transferred title to a corporation that he part-owned. But when the property was sold in 2004, Reid’s financial disclosure stated that he, not the corporation, was the seller. Critics say Reid was attempting to conceal the transaction because his partner in the deal was a Nevada lawyer who has been linked to organized crime. Reid said the incorrect filing was an innocent mistake, and that he has nothing to hide.