Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop awarded Black Caucus scholarships to family

Ga. Rep. Bishop awarded scholarships to family

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia says he did nothing wrong when he awarded a scholarship to his stepdaughter, a niece and an aide’s future wife in 2003 through the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Bishop told south Georgia television station WALB on Friday that the nonprofit foundation’s rules barring lawmakers from giving scholarships to relatives weren’t in place at the time.

Foundation records show Bishop also gave scholarships in 2003 and 2005 to a woman who is his niece by marriage. Another of the congressman’s 2003 recipients is the spouse of longtime Bishop aide Kenneth Cutts, though campaign spokesman Tim Turner says the two weren’t married at the time. The scholarships were first reported by Politico.

Bynum reported from Savannah, Ga.