As Newt Gingrich prepared his run for president, his main political action committee dramatically scaled back its fundraising activity. American Solutions PAC took in only $1,040 in the month of April — an average of just $34.66 per day.
“The $1,040 raised in April was money that trickled in late from one mail piece we sent out at the beginning of the year,” Dan Kotman of American Solutions told TPM in an email.
“We haven’t spent time fundraising for American Solutions PAC recently, but we fully expect our activity to increase later on as the new election year approaches and we will once again be supporting conservative candidates who support our values — just like we did in 2010,” he said.
But according to Kotman, American Solution’s 527 component is doing just fine.
“Our fundraising effort so far this year has been focused on American Solutions the 527 and our first quarter results are comparable to last year’s first quarter, which we are very happy with,” Kotman said.
Kotman previously told TPM that American Solutions would “aggressively move forward” after Gingrich announced his campaign.
In a post on American Solution’s website shortly after Gingrich announced his decision, company CEO Joseph Gaylord wrote that the 527 component would be “just as aggressive as ever in fighting for solutions to create jobs and ensure that America remains the safest, freest, and most prosperous nation in the world.”
“American Solutions must continue its mission for years to come, and I hope you will continue to be actively involved with this organization and its critically important mission,” Gaylord wrote.
But Gingrich’s campaign could mean a big cash flow loss for American Solutions. As NBC’s Michael Isikoff reported last month, one of Gingrich’s biggest backers is a billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp, whose company is being investigated for possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law banning U.S. companies from paying off foreign officials to get special treatment. The investigation grew out of allegations from a former employee of the company in Hong Kong.
Adelson gave $7 million over the past five years to American Solutions, which makes up more than 10 percent of all the organization’s funds, according to Isikoff’s report. But now Adelson is “expected to be a key fundraiser for Gingrich’s expected presidential campaign,” Isikoff reported.
[Ed. note: This story has been updated with additional comment from Kotman.]
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