The Justice Department subpoenaed Sen. Ruben Gallego’s (D-AZ) leadership PAC as part of a federal criminal investigation into the Arizona Democrat’s use of campaign cash to fund a luxurious lifestyle, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by POLITICO.
The grand jury subpoena went out Aug. 21 to Gallego’s Juntos PAC, POLITICO reported Saturday. Its existence had not been reported before. It sought records tied to “activities on or about” Sept. 9, 2025. It also demanded the statements Gallego gave the Senate Ethics Committee during its own misuse-of-funds probe, the one the panel dismissed in June.
A spokesman for the senator said the PAC turned over everything it was asked for.
“The leadership PAC has complied with and responded to the Trump DOJ subpoena because it has nothing to hide,” spokesman Jacques Petit told the outlet. Petit did not say whether Gallego himself, his family, or any of his staff had also been subpoenaed.
The subpoena states that it relates to an “ongoing criminal investigation” and that the records will be handed to a grand jury. Its deadline was Sept. 4.
The probe grew out of reporting on how the senator spent donor money. POLITICO documented a string of family trips to Disneyland, Disney World, Miami, and Chicago. It also found more than $18,000 in childcare reimbursements since 2019, including $400 that went to his mother-in-law. One source put it bluntly, calling the account his “personal slush fund.”
The record also pulls in disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). The two established a joint committee in October 2022, the “Swallego Victory Fund,” and used it the following year to buy Super Bowl LVII tickets in Glendale, Arizona. CBS News reported the fund burned through more than $37,000 on tickets and meals before being terminated, sending roughly $7,600 to each of their campaigns.
The California Democrat left Congress in April, abandoning a run for governor as multiple women came forward with misconduct accusations. He has denied the allegations.
The subpoena builds on earlier reporting. Breitbart News noted in June that federal prosecutors moved in a day after the Ethics Committee wrapped its inquiry, a sequence the senator’s office dismissed as “politically motivated.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) filed the complaint that prompted the Senate ethics inquiry.
