For most politicians, retiring essentially means never having to ask another person for money to fund expensive campaigns.
One soon-to-be-retiree, Rep. Charles Rangel, continues to raise money — despite announcing this past fall that he would not seek re-election after his current term ends in 2016.
Dave Levinthal, senior writer for The Center for Public Integrity, wrote about Rangel's ongoing fundraising efforts. He explained that the Congressman is raising money to repay a loan he made to his own campaign before the primary, to the tune of about $100,000.
And while that isn't unusual, Levinthal said it's not always clear from politician's ads where the money from potential donors is going — like toward repaying debts.
"For example, he [Rangel] sent out a message that was talking about trade with Cuba, another one about battling Tea Party Republicans, and all these were in the context of a fundraising message," Levinthal said.
Still, Levinthal said there's nothing illegal about what Rangel's doing, even though it can be confusing. He said it's more common among elected officials in higher offices, and that Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama have done the same.
In this interview, WNYC's Julianne Welby talks with Levinthal about how the process works.