Mike Pence’s PAC Spent $91,000 On His Book. It Became A Bestseller.

Mike Pence’s political action committee bought $91,000 of the former vice president’s memoir.

On Nov. 9, the Great America Committee paid Books on Call NYC $91,000 for what the PAC described as “collateral materials,” according to a report the PAC filed in December with the Federal Election Commission. Pence’s “So Help Me God” came out six days later. A spokesperson for Pence confirmed that the money went towards buying the memoir.

“So Help Me God” debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times’ best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction and remained on the rankings for six weeks. Although the list typically notes when retailers report bulk orders of a book, no such marking accompanied Pence’s memoir.

Since Pence is not a current candidate for federal office, he could legally use his PAC to funnel donor funds into his personal pocket, according to Brett Kappel, an attorney specializing in campaign finance at Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg. But a spokesperson for Pence, Devin O’Malley, said that the former vice president took steps to avoid that from happening, following guidance from the FEC on how to ensure he could use PAC money without personally receiving compensation from it.

Even if officials don’t profit directly when their political committees buy their book, it can benefit them. Purchases from retailers can help a book reach the best-seller list, which helps to further market the book. And politicians’ ability to tap into donor funds for purchases might make publishers more likely to strike deals with them in the first place.

After leaving office, Pence signed a two-book agreement with Simon & Schuster worth $3 million to $4 million, CNN reported in 2021. Spokespeople for the publisher did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A spokesperson for the New York Times confirmed that purchases of a book before its publication date are counted toward its week-one sales on the best-seller list.

News of the Great America Committee’s purchase was first published by Raw Story.