Campaign Finance: September 2011

About | Subscribe | RSS

TPMMuckraker
Campaign Finance: September 2011

Campaign Finance: October 2011 »

Watchdogs Ask IRS To Probe Non-Profits Affiliated With Karl Rove And Obama Aides

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2011, 11:35AM

Karl Rove

Two good government groups have formally asked the IRS to investigate the actions of Crossroads GPS, Priorities USA, American Action Network and Americans Elect, who they say should be inelligible for tax exempt status.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, officials with the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 write, section 501(c)(4) organizations "are required to primarily engage in the promotion of social welfare in order to obtain tax exempt status."

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: American Crossroads, Campaign Contributions, Campaign Donations, Campaign Finance, Campaign Legal Center , Democracy 21, IRS

Belinda Cook

Illegal Contributions By Michael Steele's Sister Cost His Senate Campaign $54K In FEC Fines

Ryan J. Reilly | September 22, 2011, 11:40AM

Michael Steele

Illegal contributions by the sister of former Republican National Committee Chairman and current MSNBC contibutor Michael Steele got his former Senate campaign fined $54,000 by the Federal Elections Committee, the agency disclosed this week.

It all started back in 2006, when Steele's sister Monica Turner hosted two fundraisers at her home in Bethesda, Md.

Invitations to the event said they were paid for by Steele for Maryland, Inc. But because the campaign was apparently low on funds, Turner paid $6,578.35 in catering, security and valet expenses for a July event and $7,850 in expenses for an October event.

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Belinda Cook, Campaign Contributions, Campaign Donations, Campaign Finance, FEC, Federal Election Commission, Michael Steele, Monica Turner

Kinde Durkee

Bank Keeps Clients Of Arrested Treasurer Kinde Durkee From Accessing Their Cash

Ryan J. Reilly | September 15, 2011, 3:05PM

Kinde Durkee

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party passed around a donations basket at a meeting and laid off one employee this week, unsure they'd be able to make payroll. Fifty-one college students can't get access to scholarships issued by the Legislative Black Caucus Policy Institute. That's all thanks to the arrest of prominent California treasurer Kinde Durkee, accused of making personal use of her clients' funds.

As Durkee and her lawyer meet with federal prosecutors and pour over the evidence in her case, the bank where she keep most of her clients' money is refusing to release control of the accounts until they agree to "hold the Bank harmless" for any misdeeds in the Durkee case.

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Campaign Contributions, Campaign Donations, Campaign Finance, Kinde Durkee

Campaign Finance

Post-Citizens United, SEC Should Force Political Disclosure, Report Argues

Susan Crabtree | September 7, 2011, 6:05AM

With the 2012 political money machine now in full post-Labor Day gear, watchdog groups are trying to turn up the pressure on businesses and unions to disclose every dollar they spend on behalf of candidates, even though that kind of transparency isn't required by law.

This is the first presidential campaign after the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, which unlocked the floodgates for unlimited corporate and union donations, and the candidates and their supporters are already pushing fundraising to new limits with the creation of the first Super PACs -- super-sized organizations full of unlimited corporate and union cash that is not required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission or anyone else.

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Campaign Finance, Citizens United, Fundraising, Public Citizen, Super PAC, Supreme Court

Kinde Durkee

Feds: Treasurer Used Campaign Funds For Cosmetics, Ice Cream, Mother's Nursing Home Bill

Ryan J. Reilly | September 6, 2011, 4:00PM

Image from Johnbraid / Shutterstock

Prominent Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee, arrested in California on mail fraud charges over the weekend, routinely moved substantial sums of money out of the accounts of her clients and into the coffers of her firm, federal authorities alleged in a newly released criminal complaint on Tuesday.