Several relatives have benefited financially from Casey’s position as an elected official and political candidate according to reports.
In a new ad paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat up for reelection this fall, is accused of helping family members benefit financially from his office and campaign.
Blasting what it calls “the Casey cartel”, the ad highlighted a variety of allegations, including Casey’s brother-in-law coordinating campaign donations from his employer, a law firm that also helped Casey screen and recommend judicial nominees. The involvement of his brother-in-law’s firm in nominating federal judges was previously reported in 2023.
A different brother-in-law, Patrick Brier, was hired as a state lobbyist for a Pennsylvania non-profit Maternal & Family Health Services just six months before the organization received a $200,000 grant from the federal Appalachian Regional Commission. The same law firm Brier works for was hired as chief counsel to the Pennsylvania Department of State during the 2020 election, when the Secretary of State made controversial changes to election practices that resulted in the Trump campaign suing. The firm also wrote new election procedures after Luzerne County, an important county for the Trump re-election efforts, “ran out of paper during the 2022 midterms” while administering the election.
Also in question is the nearly $600,000 Casey’s campaigns have spent over the years at his sister’s printing company. Casey’s sister, Margi McGrath, and her husband have donated more than $50,000 to a web of her brother’s political campaigns and political action committees over the course of many election cycles.
Yet another relative, Casey’s brother Patrick, was hired as a lobbyist for a semiconductor chip manufacturing company around the same time Sen. Casey voted in favor of a bill that expands federal financial incentives for chipmakers in the United States.
While Sen. Casey is not accused of any illegal activity, the NRSC argues Casey’s family members are enriching themselves through his status as an elected official, comparing it to allegations of President Joe Biden’s family’s “graft and self-dealing.”
Casey, who initially campaigned for the Senate in 2006 on promises to clean up the corruption of Washington, is one of several Democratic senators up for re-election this year and facing questions over ethics.
