WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent nearly $17,000 in campaign funds to his granddaughter, and disclosed their relationship only under pressure from the Federal Election Commission, it was reported Wednesday.
The Senate’s top Democrat announced he was reimbursing the money after it was revealed his campaign had cut two separate checks of $5,417 and $11,370 to his granddaughter last October for what were described as “holiday gifts.”
The checks went to “Ryan Elisabeth” — but Reid’s office didn’t initially disclose that the recipient was Ryan Elisabeth Reid, the 23-year-old daughter of his son, Rory.
When first contacted by Las Vegas journalist Jon Ralston, Reid’s office said Ryan Elisabeth was a campaign vendor — without acknowledging she was Reid’s granddaughter.
Reid’s aides later said the payments were for purchases from her Berkeley, Calif., jewelry business and that the items went to campaign donors.
The FEC wrote the Nevada Democrat’s campaign last week reminding him that campaign disbursements “must include a brief statement or description” of why they were made and seeking clarification. It said a failure to adequately respond by late April “could result in an audit or enforcement action.”
Reid has served in the Senate since 1987, is a lawyer and isn’t up for re-election until 2016.
FEC regulations allow only for the purchase of gifts of “nominal value” for occasions like holidays, graduation or marriage.
If given to a member of a lawmaker’s family, gifts are considered as personal use — and aren’t allowed.
But the rules don’t include grandchildren in the list of prohibited relatives.
Reid’s campaign didn’t respond to detailed questions about the nature of the gifts. “You’ve got to know the nature of the gifts and how many there were and what their value was to assess whether it’s lawful or not,” former FEC commissioner Michael Toner told The Post.
“We complied with all the rules,” Reid told reporters Wednesday. “Everything was complied with beforehand.”
Ryan Elisabeth Reid has a Brooklyn address and her page on the Vimeo video-sharing Web site says she attended classes at NYU.
The page paints a picture of a free spirit who “runs a namesake jewelry company . . . interned at San Francisco Mime Troupe” and “likes anything French,” while “living in NYC or Paris.”