RNC Says Michael Steele Was Never at L.A. Strip Club, but Others Were
Patricia Murphy
Capitol Hill Bureau Chief
Posted:
03/29/10
Doug Heye, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, went on Fox News Monday afternoon to address the firestorm created by a Daily Caller article that detailed chairman Michael Steele's prolific spending, including nearly $2,000 at what the story called a "risque" club in Los Angeles in February.
Heye emphatically denied to Fox's Megyn Kelly that Steele had ever been to the club, called Voyeur. "Michael Steele was not there. He didn't know about it. He would not have known about it," Heye said.
So if Steele wasn't reimbursed by the RNC for the charges, who was? Heye said he didn't know, but Kelly and reporters from several other news organizations said that the club-goer was Erik Brown, a Republican direct-mail executive from Orange County, Calif.
Heye said that the money will be repaid to the RNC and gave an all-too-necessary assurance to the RNC's other donors. "We want to make sure our donors know that we are responsible stewards of their money," he said. "People expect that money will go into races."
Toward the end of the interview, Kelly asked if Democrats and Republicans alike "take wealthy donors to fancy, nudie girl clubs to get them in a good mood to write a big check?"
Heye's response: "Absolutely not."
Video below.
Heye emphatically denied to Fox's Megyn Kelly that Steele had ever been to the club, called Voyeur. "Michael Steele was not there. He didn't know about it. He would not have known about it," Heye said.
So if Steele wasn't reimbursed by the RNC for the charges, who was? Heye said he didn't know, but Kelly and reporters from several other news organizations said that the club-goer was Erik Brown, a Republican direct-mail executive from Orange County, Calif.
Heye said that the money will be repaid to the RNC and gave an all-too-necessary assurance to the RNC's other donors. "We want to make sure our donors know that we are responsible stewards of their money," he said. "People expect that money will go into races."
Toward the end of the interview, Kelly asked if Democrats and Republicans alike "take wealthy donors to fancy, nudie girl clubs to get them in a good mood to write a big check?"
Heye's response: "Absolutely not."
Video below.