From the Center Square
A nonpartisan oversight organization filed a Senate ethics complaint on Wednesday against U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, over a social media statement he made about President Donald Trump and campaign spending, The Center Square has learned.
The Center to Advance Security in America, in a letter to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics, asked it to investigate Gallego “due to his defamation of President Trump and recent reports that Gallego is likely abusing campaign funds for personal entertainment and family purposes.”
The Center Square reached out to Gallego’s office but did not hear back before publication time.
James Fitzpatrick, CASA’s executive director, said “there’s been a variety of concerning activity by Senator Gallego.”
He told The Center Square during an exclusive interview Tuesday that CASA thinks the freshman senator’s “defamation of President Trump on X” and “misuse of campaign funds for personal use” are “potential violations of Senate ethics rules and should lead to an investigation.”
As the letter noted, Gallego on July 6 said on X that the president “was found to have committed rape.” Fitzpatrick described this statement as “defamation.”
In 2023, a New York civil court jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, ordering him to pay her $5 million.