The Missouri Republican Party has filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee against Senator McCaskill after she billed taxpayers for a political flight.

McCaskill says it was an embarrassing mistake and has since repaid the U-S Treasury.

GOP director Lloyd Smith says at issue is that she flies in a plane she co-owns.

“The U.S. government was asked to pay — for her political travel — to a group called Sunset Cove, a limited partnership owned by she and her husband,” he says. “Time Saver owns the plane, that’s another LLC owned by she and her husband, that entitiy was paid for by Sunset Cove, Sunset Cove does not own a plane.”

He says the complaint pushes for transparency and asks “How much does McCaskill benefit from paying her own LLC for government travel?”

McCaskill billed $1,220 to the U.S. Treasury for a political trip from St. Louis to Hannibal, which she has since paid back. She calls it an embarassing mistake.

He says anytime you violate rules, it’s a scandal. Smith adds that because she’s a lawyer, senator and auditor, she should know better. “It’s as clear cut as it gets.”

Typically when allegations as such are made, reparations are sought. However, since McCaskill has already reimbursed the federal government, what is it that the GOP hopes the Ethics Committee will do?

“The Ethics Committee should approach this as a serious matter,” Smith says. They should “say it’s wrong, you did wrong, point that out,” and he says he thinks it would act as a deterrant in the future.