In an interview with Fox News, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio responded to questions about his office’s use of a Florida Republican Party charge card during his time in the Florida legislature. “[I]f I had to do it again, I would not do it that way,” Rubio said. But, he emphasized, “it’s important people understand: I did not bill personal expenses to the Republican Party of Florida.”
Via First Read:
It was totally resolved years ago. But let me walk you — it’s a very valid question. First of all, I’ve already said that if I had to do it again, I would not do it that way. What I had was not a credit card; it was an American Express card, as a charge card. So basically, you charge things on a card and, at the end of the month, you have to pay it off completely. At the end of every month, we would get those statements, we would see what was on there that was party-related, and the party would pay that. If it wasn’t party-related, I would pay that — directly to American Express. It wasn’t like I reimbursed the party; I paid it directly to American Express at the time.
Now obviously, in hindsight, it looks bad, right? I mean, why are you using the party credit card at all? Well, some of these expenses were because a travel agent had the number — you know, the credit card number — and they billed it to that card instead of the other card. Sometimes, it was just a mistake. I just reached for the wrong card.
Rubio’s almost certainly being vetted by the Romney campaign as a possible running mate and seems to be making a concerted effort to address issues that might come up in that process.
