Campaign Finance Accountability
Postage Bandit
An estimated $130,000–$145,000 in public money. One campaign letter. Official funds used for political attacks.
I filed an official FEC complaint against Representative Harriet Hageman for using taxpayer-funded congressional resources to send a mass political mailing that appears to violate House rules on campaign content and disparagement. The rules apply to everyone—or they apply to no one.
The Issue
The franking privilege
Members of Congress receive a taxpayer-funded privilege called the frank—the right to send official mail at no cost using the financial machinery of the United States government. The purpose is constituent communication, not campaign defense.
Our representative got to Washington, looked at that tool, and decided it belonged to her reelection campaign.
What the mailing is
A defensive campaign letter on official congressional letterhead, sent to households across Wyoming at an estimated cost of $130,000–$145,000 in public money.
View the original mailing (PDF)What the rules prohibit
The 2025 House Communications Standards Manual governs all official taxpayer-funded congressional mail. It explicitly prohibits campaign content, electioneering, fundraising, and content that disparages or personally attacks individuals.
Policy criticism is allowed. A franked mailing can explain a vote or defend a position. But the manual is clear: official communications “critical of policy may not be personalized or politicized, and may not be used to disparage… individuals.”
What the Hageman mailing says
Critics are called “fearmongering radicals” who are “conveniently fundraising off their dishonesty.” That is not policy explanation. That is campaign-style disparagement—on official letterhead, on the public dime.
The FEC complaint
I filed an official FEC complaint against Representative Harriet Hageman. This speaks to an endemic disregard for the rule of law—a mindset that the rules apply to citizens but never to the people who write them.
You do not have to take my word for it. The complaint and the mailing are both available to read. Review the evidence and decide for yourself.
We must hold our leaders to the letter of the law, or the law ceases to mean anything at all.
Share on social media
This is what people see when you post the link on Facebook or X. When someone clicks through, they land here with the full complaint and mailing linked.
Send by email to your contacts
This is the written message your contacts receive in their inbox. It is not the image above—it is a personal email that comes from you.
Press Enter or , after each address. Up to 10 recipients.
We send a campaign-branded email on your behalf. Recipients are not added to any mailing list.
Important note
The FEC complaint is an official filing and is linked above. Dollar figures are estimates based on USPS postage rates and Wyoming household counts—the exact cost will be determined by the FEC process. The blackout period statute is cited on the sources page. Share the facts; do not overstate the outcome of a pending complaint.
The complaint is filed
This is not speculation. An official FEC complaint has been submitted and is a matter of public record.
The mailing is documented
The original mailing exists and is linked on this page. "PAID FOR BY OFFICIAL FUNDS" is printed on the mailing itself.
The rules are the rules
The 2025 House Communications Standards Manual prohibits campaign content and disparagement in official taxpayer-funded mail. It applies to every member.