RNC Fires Staffer for Bar Expense

A Republican National Committee staffer who accompanied a group of young donors to a bondage-themed West Hollywood club and then expensed the nearly $2,000 tab has been fired by the committee, POLITICO has learned.

RNC chief of staff Ken McKay announced the firing in an internal committee e-mail obtained by POLITICO.

"This was not an RNC-sanctioned event and was not associated in any way with any RNC official event,” McKay wrote of the February outing to Voyeur, a West Hollywood club modeled after the risqué Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman movie “Eyes Wide Shut.”

The late-night excursion followed an official RNC event in Los Angeles for donors in its “Young Eagles” program, McKay wrote, stressing that neither Chairman Michael Steele nor any senior staff were aware of either the outing or the committee’s reimbursement of the cost.

McKay wrote that the fired staffer, who is not named in the e-mail, “was aware that this activity was not eligible for reimbursement and had been previously counseled on this very subject. Accordingly, that staff person has been terminated.”

McKay also wrote that the donor who was reimbursed for footing the bill at Voyeur, Erik Brown, “has verbally agreed to repay the funds to the RNC.”

A source with knowledge of the situation said Brown, a churchgoing, midlevel political operative, “was not entirely thrilled with the venue that people ended up at” but nonetheless agreed to foot the bill after the RNC staffer in question told him the committee would reimburse the cost.

The RNC’s February Federal Election Commission report shows a $1,946.25 reimbursement to Brown, the owner of an Orange County direct-mail firm that has worked for top GOP candidates and committees, for “meals” at Voyeur.

The RNC, which came under fire earlier this month after POLITICO revealed an inflammatory fundraising presentation, has been doing damage control on the bondage story since The Daily Caller reported the expenditure Monday morning.

It emphasized that Steele did not attend and was unaware of the post-event foray to Voyeur and announced an investigation into how the reimbursement, which the source said violated RNC policy because the expense was not connected to an official event, slipped through accounting procedures.

In a statement Monday night, RNC spokesman Doug Heye said, “The committee has taken appropriate steps to address the issues relating to the reimbursement of certain expenses,” including “personnel actions” and revisions of “accounting and reimbursement processes ... to ensure that such an action cannot reoccur.”

Seeking to quell mounting discontent from some donors already unhappy with reports of lavish travel spending by Steele, Heye said, “We recognize the difficulty [the Voyeur] incident has caused and assure our members and supporters that any necessary and proper remediation is being implemented immediately.”

Of Brown, Heye said, “It is unfortunate that a loyal GOP donor who has recruited other donors became involved in this incident while merely trying to help what turned out to be the improper request of a staffer who is no longer with the committee.”

Brown could not be reached for comment, but Rebecca Schoenkopf, a liberal California blogger who co-hosted a now-defunct radio talk show with Brown, said he struck her as “just too uptight” to direct folks to a club like Voyeur.

He is “just a hell of a sweet guy,” Schoenkopf said.

And Leif Larson, the head of the Washington office for Brown’s firm, Dynamic Marketing Inc., or DMI, called Brown “a good husband” who is religious and is “strongly in favor of fiscal conservatism.”

Larson also said he’s concerned Brown’s ensnarement in the Voyeur controversy could hurt the firm’s business.

FEC filings show that federal campaigns and committees — including committees associated with 2008 GOP presidential candidates John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani — have paid DMI $161,200 since 2006. However, Larson said the bulk of the firm’s business is for California state candidates and committees.

The Hill newspaper reported Monday night that California state Rep. Chuck DeVore, who's seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, announced Monday he "has severed all ties" with DMI.

In an online biography, Brown described himself as “a sportsman and a mentor to young athletes,” and an “ice hockey coach for over 12 years,” and indicated that he and his wife “are actively involved in the ministries of their local church.”

He also boasted via Twitter of his access to Steele, tweeting in October that he was “enjoying the football game with RNC Chairman Michael Steele. (Eagles vs. Redskins at FedEx Field).”