Office of Congressional Ethics found substantial reason to believe Rep. Sanford Bishop's campaign spent funds on personal or non-campaign expenses and that office funds paid for holiday parties; House Ethics closed the matter in 2024 with no further action, and Bishop's counsel acknowledged campaign mistakes

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The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) Board voted 6-0 on January 31, 2020 to refer Review No. 19-3824 to the House Committee on Ethics, which received it on February 10, 2020. The Board found substantial reason to believe that Rep. Bishop converted campaign funds to personal use, or that his campaign committee spent funds not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes, and that he spent a portion of his Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) on annual holiday celebrations. The OCE said its evidence showed the campaign likely spent tens of thousands of dollars on fuel, golf expenses, meals, travel, tuition and entertainment that likely were personal in nature, and that four December events from 2015 to 2018 were paid for with $16,087.87 in Treasury funds. It reported that Bishop cooperated, acknowledged some of the spending was improper and denied impropriety on other items. It also reported evidence that his campaign treasurer from 1993 until fall 2019 had intentionally misreported disbursement information on FEC filings and may have intentionally converted campaign funds, while noting she had serious health problems since at least 2016 and that it was unclear how far they contributed. The OCE stated its findings do not determine whether a violation occurred. The Committee extended its review on June 16, 2020, saying an extension does not indicate a violation, and published the OCE report on July 31, 2020. On December 30, 2024 the Committee announced it had unanimously closed several personal-use-of-campaign-funds matters, including Bishop's. Its statement said that in several of those matters there was evidence the Member's campaign did not fully comply with the applicable standards, but no evidence any Member intentionally misused campaign funds for personal benefit; it said it would take no further action, released updated guidance and announced no sanction. In a July 29, 2020 response, Bishop's counsel wrote that Bishop "acknowledges that mistakes were made by his campaign" and that he should have provided better oversight. The response said Bishop reimbursed the Treasury $16,087.87 for the four events, while stating they had a clear officially-connected purpose, repaid certain campaign expenses by personal check, stopped campaign payment of country club dues and installed a new treasurer.

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