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Was NRCC Staffer Cooking The Books?
Ever since Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, disclosed that "we learned earlier this week of irregularities in our financial audit process," people have been scrambling to find out what's up. Cole pointed to a single former employee as the culprit, and said that the irregularities might "include fraud."
Today, the Politico reports that, the employee, Chris Ward, was a longtime employee of the NRCC, and the committee, already hurting in comparison with its well-funded House Democratic counterpart, may be in for even more hurt as Ward's "irregularities" are sorted out:
“There is a sense that this could be very damaging to the committee,” said a Republican insider close to the GOP leadership.The precise details of the suspected accounting irregularities and their possible fallout are not entirely clear. NRCC officials and top GOP leaders are being tight-lipped in large part because the FBI is investigating the matter. An outside lawyer advising members and staff has warned everyone at the committee to keep quiet....
As treasurer, Ward was in charge of NRCC bookkeeping, tracking tens of millions of dollars in political contributions and expenditures. He has been at the center of NRCC bookkeeping for more than a decade.....
Several sources familiar with the investigation suspect the reporting irregularities could go back many years.
Real Clear Politics noted earlier this week that Ward served as treasurer "for campaign committees and leadership PACs including those of Reps. Jim Walsh, Jim Saxton, Peter Roskam, Lamar Smith and Denny Rehberg as well as Senator John Ensign's leadership PAC." It's unclear if they may all be in for a hurting.
Update: Raw Story also notes that Ward was a partner at the firm that handled $230,000 worth of business for the Swift Boat Vets in 2004. So he got around.
Josh
Zachary
He was also treasurer for American Liberty PAC, the leadership PAC associated with Bob Ney.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.asp?strId=C00366120&cycle=2004
February 6, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hmm..Rep Jim Walsh (R-NY) announced his retirement last week which, from what I read, was a surprise. Wonder if this investigation influenced his decision.
I'm thinking this could turn out to be a big fat juicy scandal. I definitely am not buying the lone fraudster story put out by the RNCC.
February 6, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
First, and foremost, a *sunny* welcome back to Mrs. P.
Second, don't lose sight of that Swiftboats connection. It's a rogue's gallery but a small one - everyone motivated to come together for/by some reason. Swiftboat funder Mark Andrews is also a self-proclaimed vocal critic of casinos. He's so far got a lot of unexplored connections and diverse conservative ties.
Maybe he was the "other side" of Ney/Abramoff's indian endeavors. 'Cause you know the GOP will make money on both sides of the issue, regardless of ethics.
February 6, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
There must be some sort of competition going on in the Republican party. The last one to go to jail wins. (In that case, keeping the loot is a bonus.)
February 6, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
credit to chriscol at DailyKos
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/3/224946/4710
Christopher J Ward has connections to these PACS (and a history of diverting the money for illegal use) :
American Liberty PAC
REFORM PAC
ROSKAM FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE (ROSKAM, PETER)
SENATE MAJORITY COMMITTEE (CANDIDATE: MCGAVICK, MICHAEL SEAN )
WA-05 CONGRESSIONAL VICTORY COMMITTEE ( MCMORRIS, CATHY )
Longhorn PAC(Lamar Smith)
Battle Born PAC(John Ensign)
Building Our Opportunities Together PAC (Denny Rehberg)
GRAND OLD PARTY STAFFER TRYING TO AFFECT FEDERAL
ELECTIONS PAC AKA GOPSTAFEPAC
Jobs, Economy & Budget Fund (Jeb Hensarling)
COLDPAC (James T. Walsh)
SAFEGUARDING AMERICA BY EXPANDING NATIONAL SECURITY PAC (SAXPAC) ( Jim Saxton)
PROSPERITY HELPS INSPIRE LIBERTY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PHILPAC)
Storm Chasers (Steve Buyer)
WELPAC (Ernie Fletcher)
HOOSIER'S SALUTE TO THE PRESIDENT (CHOCOLA, JOSEPH CHRISTOPHER)
MINNESOTANS FOR A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE (KENNEDY, MARK RAYMOND)
PENNSYLVANIANS FOR A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS COMMITTEE (PATERNO, GEORGE SCOTT )
TEAM GOP 2002 COMMITTEE (OTTER, C L BUTCH)
KNOW-HOW AND INTEGRITY FOR OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT PAC - KINGPAC
Leading Us In Success PAC(Luis Fortuno )
Re-elect Freshmen of the Repub Majority(Jerry Weller)
Good Fund (Bob Goodlatte)
Get It? When the GOP bosses tell their congresscritters to vote a certain way or they will fund an opponent in the next primary against them, they mean it.
February 6, 2008 12:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anyone know if he was in charge of any state candidate committees? Remember that Tom DeLay got jammed up by shuffling ARMPAC funds between federal accounts (reported to the FEC) and state accounts in Alabama and Mississippi (reported by the Alabama and Mississippi state offices of campaign finance, no connection to the FEC).
February 6, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Politico article notes that from August - December 2007, he was providing services through his company CJ Ward & Company LLC at his home.
Yet, Maryland State corporation records show that CJ Ward & Company (incorporated in 1999) has not existed since 2002 following a failutre to file a tax return.
Here's the record:
http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/UCC-Charter/DisplayEntity_b.aspx?EntityID=W05588256&EntityName=C.J.+WARD+%26+COMPANY+LLC++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++&TabNum=1
February 6, 2008 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
One of 2 ways I see this..
Either excellent karma coming around ...hip hip..
or
Chris Ward is a fall guy to hide a a slimy money trail the NRCC doesn't want traced.
February 6, 2008 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why does this just sound so familiar? Oh, yes, Water Gate, Iran Contra and a whole slew of other scandals. The NRCC - well it is part of a one party state, need e-mail accounts anyone?
There just seems to be an ingrained tendency on the part of Republicans to go bad when given any position of public or private trust.
February 6, 2008 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Raw Story, Christopher J. Ward apparently at one time was a partner with "Political Compliance Services Inc" of Fairfax, VA.
Ward gave an FEC contribution in 2006 listing himself as a Partner at Political Compliance Services, Inc.
And now, about Political Compliance Services, Inc (from SourceWatch):
Her known roles, both past and present, include the following:
Administrative contact for Political Compliance Services Inc., according to its WHOIS database entry [2]. Note that her involvement with PCS is not given anywhere on its website.
Treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund [3]
A listed contact for FreedomWorks [they're the ones running Ari Fleischer's "Freedoms Watch"]
The custodian of records for David Horowitz's defunct 527 committee, PoliticalWar.com Inc. [5] [6]
A contributor to the New Birth of Freedom PAC, according to IRS records posted by Center for Public Integrity
An employee of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Arceneaux helped to set it up, and is given as the contact person on its post office box. [7][8]
"The group described Ms. Arceneaux's role, also, as 'compliance.' ... Records also list Ms. Arceneaux as treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the former House majority leader, Dick Armey of Texas, which like the Swift Boat Veterans received significant financing from Bob Perry, a Texan who has long supported Mr. Bush." [9]
Arceneaux's involvement in SBVT did not become known until late August 2004, at the height of the controversy generated by the group's attack on presidential candidate John Kerry.
Oddly, Christoper J Ward is still listed as Treasurer of Political Compliance Services Inc according to the Virginia State Corporation Database.
February 6, 2008 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope that no Republicans are surprised by this, because anyone who's been following their shenanigans shouldn't be.
It's really pretty simple: You can't limit corruption just to the areas where you want it. They've built their culture themselves.
Just like it's hard to find a Bush appointee that has actually done the job s/he is supposed to do instead of putting partisanship first, it's getting hard to find a Republican organization that doesn't have shady dealings going on.
This is certainly an advantage to how the Democratic Party runs (or doesn't run) things--something the Republicans scoff at. By being so disorganized rather than marching in lockstep, Democratic corruption is independent (see Wm Jefferson) rather than institutionalized. It's way easier to weed out corrupt anomalies than to salvage an entire system.
I actually feel bad for old-school Republicans (including many of my relatives) who must be horrified at what their party has become. This isn't what they signed up for. Time to bring back the Whigs?
February 6, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Raw Story, Christopher J. Ward apparently at one time was a partner with "Political Compliance Services Inc" of Fairfax, VA.
Ward gave an FEC contribution in 2006 listing himself as a Partner at Political Compliance Services, Inc.
And now, about Political Compliance Services, Inc (from SourceWatch):
Her known roles, both past and present, include the following:
Administrative contact for Political Compliance Services Inc., according to its WHOIS database entry [2]. Note that her involvement with PCS is not given anywhere on its website.
Treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund [3]
A listed contact for FreedomWorks [they're the ones running Ari Fleischer's "Freedoms Watch"]
The custodian of records for David Horowitz's defunct 527 committee, PoliticalWar.com Inc. [5] [6]
A contributor to the New Birth of Freedom PAC, according to IRS records posted by Center for Public Integrity
An employee of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Arceneaux helped to set it up, and is given as the contact person on its post office box. [7][8]
"The group described Ms. Arceneaux's role, also, as 'compliance.' ... Records also list Ms. Arceneaux as treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the former House majority leader, Dick Armey of Texas, which like the Swift Boat Veterans received significant financing from Bob Perry, a Texan who has long supported Mr. Bush." [9]
Arceneaux's involvement in SBVT did not become known until late August 2004, at the height of the controversy generated by the group's attack on presidential candidate John Kerry.
Oddly, Christoper J Ward is still listed as Treasurer of Political Compliance Services Inc according to the Virginia State Corporation Database.
February 6, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Raw Story, Christopher J. Ward apparently at one time was a partner with "Political Compliance Services Inc" of Fairfax, VA.
Ward gave an FEC contribution in 2006 listing himself as a Partner at Political Compliance Services, Inc.
And now, about Political Compliance Services, Inc (from SourceWatch):
Her known roles, both past and present, include the following:
Administrative contact for Political Compliance Services Inc., according to its WHOIS database entry [2]. Note that her involvement with PCS is not given anywhere on its website.
Treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund [3]
A listed contact for FreedomWorks [they're the ones running Ari Fleischer's "Freedoms Watch"]
The custodian of records for David Horowitz's defunct 527 committee, PoliticalWar.com Inc. [6]
A contributor to the New Birth of Freedom PAC, according to IRS records posted by Center for Public Integrity
An employee of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Arceneaux helped to set it up, and is given as the contact person on its post office box. [7][8]
"The group described Ms. Arceneaux's role, also, as 'compliance.' ... Records also list Ms. Arceneaux as treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the former House majority leader, Dick Armey of Texas, which like the Swift Boat Veterans received significant financing from Bob Perry, a Texan who has long supported Mr. Bush." [9]
Arceneaux's involvement in SBVT did not become known until late August 2004, at the height of the controversy generated by the group's attack on presidential candidate John Kerry.
Oddly, Christoper J Ward is still listed as Treasurer of Political Compliance Services Inc according to the Virginia State Corporation Database.
February 6, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
The 3:18 comment was from The Facilitatrix. I don't know if this is happening to anyone else, but even if the comment section shows it recognizes me, my comment comes up without attribution. I had to log in.
February 6, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Raw Story, Christopher J. Ward apparently at one time was a partner with "Political Compliance Services Inc" of Fairfax, VA.
Ward gave an FEC contribution in 2006 listing himself as a Partner at Political Compliance Services, Inc.
February 6, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to Raw Story, Christopher J. Ward apparently at one time was a partner with Political Compliance Services of Fairfax, VA.
Ward gave an FEC contribution in 2006 listing himself as a Partner at Political Compliance Services, Inc.
And now, about Political Compliance Services, Inc (from SourceWatch):
Susan Arceneaux, a resident of Fairfax, Virginia, is a well-connected member of the Republican Party: Arceneaux is a "long time aide of Dick Armey, a former Congressman from Texas and a close friend of Bush Jr. Arceneaux also is tied in with a number of other Republican groups close to Bush Jr. NY Times 8/24/04)." [1]
Her known roles, both past and present, include the following:
Administrative contact for Political Compliance Services Inc., according to its WHOIS database entry [2]. Note that her involvement with PCS is not given anywhere on its website.
Treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund [3]
A listed contact for FreedomWorks [they're the ones running Ari Fleischer's "Freedoms Watch"]
The custodian of records for David Horowitz's defunct 527 committee, PoliticalWar.com Inc. [5] [6]
A contributor to the New Birth of Freedom PAC, according to IRS records posted by Center for Public Integrity
An employee of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Arceneaux helped to set it up, and is given as the contact person on its post office box. [7][8]
"The group described Ms. Arceneaux's role, also, as 'compliance.' ... Records also list Ms. Arceneaux as treasurer of the Majority Leader's Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the former House majority leader, Dick Armey of Texas, which like the Swift Boat Veterans received significant financing from Bob Perry, a Texan who has long supported Mr. Bush." [9]
Arceneaux's involvement in SBVT did not become known until late August 2004, at the height of the controversy generated by the group's attack on presidential candidate John Kerry.
Oddly, Christoper J Ward is still listed as Treasurer of Political Compliance Services Inc according to the Virginia State Corporation Database.
February 6, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ken Silverstein at Harper's reported that Christopher J. Ward signed on as treasurer of the Senate Majority Committee on 1/27/08, according to FEC records.
February 6, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting constellation of websites associated with Political Compliance Services, Inc:
www.americanpoliticalwebware.com (a FEC reporting site, it appears; check out the demo)
www.acaciamedia.com (a Christian-based, invitation-only webhosting company)
and, of course, www.politicalcompliance.net
February 6, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
According to that FEC filing that Mrs. P references, the Assistant Treasurer for the Senate Majority Committee is a Cynthia Hampton of Las Vegas, NV.
Times must be tough all around, because Cynthia has her $1.6 million home up for sale. And it's a tough market right now.
February 6, 2008 5:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well hellooo, it appears as though Assistant Treasuer Cynthia Ely Hampton owns that $1.6m house with Douglas D. Hampton.
And who is Doug?
Well it appears as though he's the Administrative Assitant (aka Chief of Staff) in DC to Rep. John Ensign.
And it appears as though Doug is tied into the current turbulent governor as well... At least according to this golf promo flyer.
February 6, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well hellooo, it appears as though Assistant Treasuer Cynthia Ely Hampton owns that $1.6m house with Douglas D. Hampton.
And who is Doug?
Well it appears as though he's the Administrative Assitant (aka Chief of Staff) in DC to Rep. John Ensign.
And it appears as though Doug is tied into the current turbulent governor as well... At least according to this (www.southernhighlands.com/pdf/black_tie.pdf) golf promo flyer.
February 6, 2008 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Chris J Ward is currently serving as the campaign treasurer for Rep. Vito Fossella (NY-13). He filed Fossella's 4Q report on Jan 28, 2008. Chris lists his email address as chris@ampolweb.com, American Political Webware that cltoyen92 points out above.
February 7, 2008 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks ny13blog. So now it looks like we're uncovering some of the databases that the GOP uses to keep track of their base. Karl Rove built his empire on databases and looks like "American Political Webware" might be one of them.
Spend some time looking through the demo. It appears to use real donor lists (from Virginia) as well as real service providers. I wonder how the GOP's contributors from Virginia feel about this. Nice privacy protections.
February 7, 2008 9:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Here are other FEC filing software companies.
http://www.fec.gov/elecfil/software.shtml
I wonder how many others are GOP-affiliated?
February 7, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
C92, Ken Silverstein at Harper's was wrong about when Ward became treasurer of the Senate Majority Committee. It was April 2006, according to FEC filings.
Did you read the Ward item in today's Daily Muck? The Crypt at Politico downgraded Ward to being a "former bookkeper" and Roy Blunt is sure that the whole thing will blow over shortly. Methinks that TPM should stay on this one.
BTW, the Senate Majority Committee raises funds jointly with:
Battle Born PAC
Team Sununu
Collins For Senator
Friends of Gordon Smith
Coleman For Senator 08
Bob Schaeffer For US Senate
February 7, 2008 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Mrs. Panstreppon,
If Ken Silverstein is wrong about the Senate majority Committee, he is at least correct in pointing us to the Harper's article where he found it. And the Harper's article links to an FEC form dated 1/27/08, not 06. That said, the Harper's article does claim that the purpose of Senate Majority Committee is for Republican fund raising, not Dem.
February 7, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, Mrs. P.
So Ward has a much longer tenure with the SMC than was originally thought.
February 7, 2008 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
danp, In a previous comment here, I linked to Ken Silverstein's Harper blog post about Ward. Silverstein is Harper's editor. My point is that Silverstein wrote that Ward signed on as a treasurer of the Senate Majority Committee in January 2008 but Ward has actually been the SMC treasurer since 2006.
C92, Check out Silverstein's Harper's post today about our old friend, Curt Weldon. LOL - Cecilia Grimes is still in the picture.
I don't think I ever mentioned this but awhile ago I left a message for the US attorney investigating Weldon and told him to look into the link between Grimes, Cynthia Young and Galaxy Scientific vis-a-vis the Grimes and Young contributions as GS execs. Remember? Grimes and Young were supposed to be lobbyists at the time?
I wonder if Weldon and Defense Solutions parted ways since Weldon has started his own consulting business.
February 7, 2008 1:03 PM | Reply | Permalink