Hey <<First Name>>, I was up at 5 a.m. today because I couldn't wait to tell you about the debut of Spotlight PA's first major investigation, which reveals how Pennsylvania state lawmakers use a legal loophole to hide millions of dollars in campaign spending. We're talking foreign trips, sports tickets, limos, lavish dinners, fine wines and liquor, a country club membership, and even a DNA test kit. You've probably never seen any of this spending. But we've got all the details. For the past year, our team joined forces with The Caucus, a print publication produced by LNP Media Group in Lancaster, to identify thousands of instances of obscured spending in public campaign finance reports.
The reporters then spent months using a little-known provision of the state election law to demand more information about that spending, including credit card statements and receipts. The result: Roughly 3,600 pages of documents. Beginning today and through the rest of the week, we're bringing you an unprecedented look at how Pennsylvania lawmakers take advantage of some of the weakest campaign finance rules in the United States, and how their campaign coffers are allowed to double as personal piggy banks. This investigation was paid for in part by readers like you who value hard-hitting accountability journalism. If you want to see more of this kind of work, take a moment and support our newsroom now. We depend on you. Best,
Chris
Christopher Baxter
Editor in Chief, Spotlight PA
cbaxter@spotlightpa.org | 