Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) has filed an amended financial disclosure detailing previously undisclosed payments from his campaign to his wife.
Johnson's campaign paid his wife, Mereda Davis Johnson, $30,000 from 2008-2010 according to the amendment, which was filed on July 1 but only became available on the House's disclosure website late this week.
The Committee to Re-Elect Hank Johnson campaign had disclosed the payments in FEC filings, usually as "consulting" or "salary," but Johnson had not disclosed the payments on his personal financial disclosure. Filers are required to disclose all sourcesof their spouses' income. The lawmaker listed the exact amount of campaign payments to his wife as $9,250 in 2008, $12,000 in 2009, and $8,750 in 2010.
Employing family through an election campaign is permissible under law and ethics rules, although it can raise questions about whether the payments are for actual campaign work rather than to funnel donations to the member's personal account.
Johnson's campaign has made other payments that raised questions. In 2008, a Republican web site found Johnson's campaign was paying $1,500 a month in rent to Johnson and Johnson Law Group, a firm where Johnson and his wife had both been partners. The campaign said the rent was fair market value, and the rent was turned over directly to the property's owner.
