Second Complaint Filed Against Trahan Over Campaign Loan

ANDOVER, MA — U.S. Rep Lori Trahan (D-Lowell) was either "grossly negligent" or "willfully concealed" the source of a last-minute cash infusion into her campaign last fall, according to a complaint filed by a watchdog group with the Office of Congressional Ethics. The complaint by Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust, or FACT, follows an earlier complaint questioning the source of a $371,000 loan Trahan made to her campaign. The source was not disclosed until after the general election in November.

Trahan's office has denied any wrongdoing. The cash infusion came days before the September Democratic primary where Trahan defeated Dan Koh of Andover in a 10-way race by 0.1 percent following a recount. She then went on to easily win the general election in November.

Earlier this month, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint against Trahan with the Federal Elections Commission. At the time, a spokesperson for the freshman lawmaker said the complaint was "without merit."

While FACT was previously run by President Trump’s acting attorney general, the group says it is nonpartisan and has filed complaints against elected officials from both parties. The group's complaint against Trahan calls on the Office of Congressional Ethics to open an investigation to determine the true source of the money.

"The Code of Ethics for Government Services holds public servants should uphold the law and Constitution, not evade it," the complaint said.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported that Trahan had accepted contributions from political action committees representing beer wholesalers, grocery stores, hotels, hospitals, cable providers and other industries. That, the report said, seems to contradict her campaign promise not to accept PAC money.

"I firmly believe that we need to root out the corruptive influence if money in politics, which is why I refuse to take any money from corporate PACs," she said during the campaign last year.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).