Trevor Potter Quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, Perry Used Jet of Donor Who Faces SEC Probe

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his family have made presidential campaign trips aboard a jet owned by a wealthy contributor who is under investigation for possible securities fraud by Texas regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Perry, who has emerged in just weeks as the new frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, flew last weekend aboard Brian D. Pardo's Cessna Citation X jet from a remote Texas airport to various campaign events in Iowa, according to a Perry campaign aide and flight records obtained via Flightwise.com.

"Even before the 2007 reimbursement law made it costlier for candidates to fly on supporters' planes, "the practice of paying someone for the use of their jet was already becoming controversial and out of fashion," said Trevor Potter, a campaign-finance attorney who was general counsel to Sen. John McCain's presidential run three years ago.