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Lawmaker resigns after Instagramming his suspicious spending
One of GOP's rising stars has resigned from Congress, in part because his own Instagram posts have given rise to constant questions about his expenditures. Illinois representative Aaron Schock lived a lavish lifestyle while he was a government official, and he used to make sure the world knew that by posting snapshots of his escapades on his Instagram account. Little did he know that AP would extract location data from photos of his frequent travels in order to link them to instances when he illegally used taxpayer money to rent private jets. For instance, the news agency determined that Schock rented a plane for his trip to the Capitol in 2013, because he posted a photo of his Schocktoberfest fundraising event when he got back to Peoria, Illinois. The dates lined up with the $11,433 transportation amount he billed his office.
AP: Lawmaker's Instagram account proves he's misusing taxpayer money
Rep. Aaron Schock (R) from Illinois has been spending taxpayer money on renting private jets, getting massages and taking his staff to sold out concerts, according to the Associated Press. And, get this: AP says it has confirmed all those times he rented a private jet, thanks in part to his Instagram posts. AP extracted location data from his photos and compared it with the records for each flight billed against his office. Current rules state that lawmakers can use taxpayer money to pay for their share of the cost for private flights (other passengers would have to pay for their share), but that was only approved in January 2013.
