Ryan Nicol
Mark Foley is continuing to wind down his congressional campaign account, as he donated more than $200,000 to local charities between April 1 and June 30.
That’s according to the latest financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The expenditures listed in the July quarterly report leave the account, “Friends of Mark Foley for Congress,” with just over $670,000 still remaining.
That’s less than 40% of the $1.7 million Foley’s account had remaining when he departed Congress in 2006. That drawdown has accelerated recently, as Foley announced in June he would work to close the account for good and donate the remaining funds to charity.
Among the donations listed in the recent July quarterly report was a $52,500 contribution to the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties for scholarship money. The organization also received $10,000 from Foley’s account for COVID-19 relief.
Foley has been funneling money to coronavirus relief efforts for a few months now.
Foley’s fund also sent $25,000 to Lake Worth Dollars for Scholars, a nonprofit that helps students attend college.
Smattered among the approximately $200,000 in charitable donations were a handful of political donations as well. Foley, who served in Congress as a Republican, threw $1,000 to Heather Fitzenhagen’s bid for Senate District 27.
The former Republican lawmaker also donated to Maria Sachs’ Palm Beach County Commission bid. Sachs is a former Democratic state Senator.
Foley previously represented portions of Palm Beach County during his time in Congress. He resigned in 2006 after sending sexually suggestive messages to a former congressional page living in California.
His decision to wind down the campaign account comes as Foley faced questions in recent years about the funds still remaining in that account.
In 2018, the FEC pledged to conduct additional reviews of so-called “zombie” campaign accounts. Last year, Foley was also one of 50 campaigns to receive an FEC letter asking whether those accounts were truly “winding down.”
This past May, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) sought answers about the nearly $900,000 dollars remaining in accounts belonging to Foley and other former members of Congress. Foley previously said he was keeping that account open for a potential congressional run once reapportionment occurs following the 2020 Census, though he appears to have changed his tune in that regard.
