Ernest Istook's 2004 Campaign Being Audited

Thursday, July 20th 2006, 9:55 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An audit of the 2004 re-election campaign of Congressman Ernest Istook by the Federal Election Commission has found improper contributions from corporations and other mistakes.

Istook chief of staff John Albaugh says the Federal Election Commission began the audit because the campaign filed several corrections due to bookkeeping errors and the embezzlement by a former staff member who's now in prison.

The campaign has refunded $61,575 in the past three months to several individual donors and to companies, which are not allowed to contribute to campaigns.

Istook is not running for re-election but is instead running for governor.