Reid followup: couldn’t pay for tickets

Based on this report, the information provided in the AP story I linked to in this post was not correct. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid was provided with credentials to attend the boxing matches, which have no face value and for which the boxing commission could not accept payment.

But it turns out that it would have been illegal for Reid to reimburse the commission for the seats. That’s because these weren’t actually tickets – they were credentials with no face value given to V.I.P.’s. And according to the boxing promoter who awarded those credentials to Reid, it is illegal for the commission to accept payment for them. Despite that, McCain insisted on paying, and so the commission simply gave his check (written for a seemingly arbitrary amount) to a charity since it couldn’t accept it.

What’s more, that same promoter says that in other cases where Reid and McCain received tickets that could be reimbursed, Reid paid. That’s a key fact which, if true, was left out of Solomon’s article.

More information on this can be found at the Las Vegas Review Journal.

My apologies to Mr. Reid for passing along inaccurate information. I understand all too well what it is like to have your integrity questioned.

The appearance of impropriety has, however, prompted Reid to declare that he will no longer accept such tickets in the future. However, this article was written by the same John Solomon who wrote the original piece, so maybe it should be taken with a grain of salt.