Rep with rock-hard abs denies using campaign funds for P90X

Shown here is Rep. Aaron Schock, in his official photo and on the cover of Men's Health magazine in 2011. (Courtesy of Men's Health)

An Illinois congressman known for his rock-hard abs is rejecting a claim that he used his campaign account to pay for a P90X fitness DVD.

Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., had been flagged by a Washington watchdog group for initially reporting the intense fitness program purchase as a "health care" expense on his campaign committee records.

Turns out, it was just a filing error.

According to a statement from Schock's office, Schock paid for the DVD "personally" on his American Express card. It was "mistakenly" reported to the Federal Election Commission in July 2010, but was corrected days later.

"So that was corrected 20 months ago. The campaign never paid for the P90X DVD," the statement said.

It looks like the congressman got his money's worth, though. The fit rep appeared, shirtless, on the cover of Men's Health magazine last year.

The DVD wasn't the only purchase cited by the report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The group, known as CREW for short, said Schock's campaign committee reimbursed him for more than $150,000 in 2008 and 2010 -- including for a stay in Athens. CREW said Schock's campaign also reimbursed his mother for $24,000.

The findings were part of an analysis that found dozens of congressional lawmakers had reimbursed themselves or their family members.

Schock's office, however, dismissed the claims. A spokesman acknowledged the hotel stay in Athens was a "mistake" which the congressman has since reimbursed the campaign for. "It was a credit card receipt that was included with a stack of other legitimate campaign expenses. That receipt should not have been mixed in with his campaign receipts for that month," the spokesman said.

He continued: "Except for the charge for his hotel in Greece, the expenses are all reasonable expenses directly related to either campaign expenditures or fundraising costs."

He said Schock was reimbursed for on-the-fly campaign expenses charged to his credit card. And he said Schock's mother was only reimbursed because she "constantly ran errands for the campaign" and purchased items on her personal credit card.