Updated 08/30/2012 10:33 PM
Slaughter Questions Brooks' Husband's Trips
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Even with Maggie Brooks at the Republican National Convention and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter trying to keep the focus on job promotion during an event at Eastman Business Park, a press release sent out Thursday by Slaughter's campaign couldn't be ignored.
"We are not particularly attacking but we want to tell facts and that's what we did," said Slaughter, (D).
With the November election for the 25th Congressional District seat getting closer, Slaughter's campaign released documents it says show Brooks' husband Robert Weisner pocketed more than one million dollars through his job at the Monroe County Water Authority as director of security.
"We have been spending considerable time and all of it is absolutely accurate,” said Slaughter.
Slaughter's campaign says Weisner spent considerable taxpayer money while at a "patronage job" at the water authority.
Slaughter's communication director, Eric Walker, said the expense reports were requested earlier this year through the Freedom of Information Act. Walker says the documents, which we were not able to independently verify, show expense reports Weisner submitted for trips to Disneyland and Las Vegas in which Brooks traveled with her husband.
"Maggie Brooks used her office to enrich her own family which is really the issue here and something the voters should be concerned about going into this election,” said Walker.
When asked about the reason behind the extensive amount of documents foiled, Slaughter responded:
“I can't tell you about that part of it because I honestly don't know,” she said.
Walker says Slaughter was fully aware of Thursday's press release by her campaign.
"It went through her, she, ya know, it went through her, every communcation that comes through this office comes through her," Walker said.
Brooks' campaign manager, Noah Lebowitz, called this an outrageous attack; a “type of gutter politics,” and questioned why Slaughter would not make the accusations on camera and instead issued a press release.
In a statement on behalf of Brooks, Lebowitz said:
"Maggie would never stoop so low as to attack members of Louise Slaughter's family for political benefit."
The statement went on to say "Louise Slaughter will do and say anything to stay in Washington."
“This is not about Maggie Brooks' family. It's about Maggie Brooks. It's about her decision to use her public office and tax payer office to reap the financial benefits. And it's about Maggie Brook's refusal to accept responsibility for her own record of scandal,” said Walker.
A Community Relations Officer for Monroe County told YNN the County believes there may be some inaccuracies in the documents and is reviewing the expense reports.
According to Brooks' campaign, Weisner was attending conferences on behalf of the Water Authority and was not on vacation.