
Federal prosecutors said in a 17-page filing this week that California campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee's illegal use of her client's campaign funds affected 50 victims and caused a loss of over $7 million. The "information" filing typically means that a defendant has reached a plea deal, and Durkee has a hearing scheduled on Friday.
The court document says that Durkee "routinely misappropriated client funds by moving without authorization substantial sums of money out of client accounts, including political campaign accounts, into Durkee & Associates' or into other clients' accounts."
So who lost what, and what did Durkee spend the money on? Here's a rundown of the information disclosed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Restore Our Future, the "super PAC" supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, doesn't have language on its website warning federal contractors not to make donations but has accepted $890,000 from companies that receive taxpayer money, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The U.S. has had a prohibition on donations from individuals and corporations with federal contracts since 1940, but the question of whether such a ban is constitutional has been up in the air since the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. The Los Angeles Times reports that other "super PACs" like American Crossroads and Priorities USA Action (which supports President Obama) have warnings on their websites that say federal contractors cannot make donations.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Four years after the fact, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has gotten around to chastising the man behind a political action committee called "Californians for Obama" for raising thousands of dollars in support for then-Sen. Barack Obama while obscuring the fact that it didn't have any actual connections to the future president's campaign.
The group was run by a self-proclaimed movie mogul named Emmett Cash III, but Kinde Durkee -- the major Democratic treasurer who was arrested for allegedly stealing from many of her clients back in September -- handled its finances.
Californians for Obama came under FEC scrutiny in October 2007, when a California woman complained to the agency after she paid $2,423.76 to go on a "Women of Power Cruise" that was supposed to take place in September of that year. It didn't happen and her money wasn't refunded. The group had been the subject of a July 25, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article that detailed how Cash -- who according to the Chronicle had been a registered Republican until June 2007 -- had raised nearly $10,000, most of which was paid to himself.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Turns out the media firestorm over charges that former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed women was pretty good for the Cain campaign's bottom line.
A TPM analysis of campaign finance data filed with the Federal Election Commission this week confirms the Cain campaign's assertion that their fundraising got a boost after Politico first reported that the National Restaurant Association reached two sexual harassment settlements with women who accused Cain of inappropriate behavior in the 1990s.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Republican lawyer on the case that arguably helped pave the way for the creation of so-called "super PACs" told TPM this week that he hopes politicians will realize that the contribution limits on their campaigns are putting them at a huge disadvantage, and will pass legislation dashing such restrictions.
An odd position for a key player in the opening of the anonymous-campaign-cash floodgates to have? James Bopp Jr. says no.
"I'm very hopeful and actually expect that incumbent politicians are going to look at themselves and say we are severely handicapped" in comparison to super PACs, Bopp told TPM, arguing that political campaigns were more accountable to voters than super PACs.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it was extending its investigation into Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, who is also under a Justice Department probe for allegations he broke campaign finance laws.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Federal Election Commission thinks Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) either lied to them or has a terrible memory problem.
An FEC report obtained by TPM about allegations that Buchanan had his former car company reimburse employees for donations to his political campaign finds that there wasn't enough evidence to show that Buchanan broke the law. Buchanan's team had previously claimed that he was "completely exonerated" by the commission, citing letters from the FEC.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)A government watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich following a report that his campaign paid Gingrich $42,000 for the use of his personal mailing list without disclosing it in their campaign finance filings. They also asked the FEC to investigation whether Gingrich Productions, Inc. held campaign events in conjunction with his book signings.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is defending NRCC Finance Chair Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) over allegations he schemed to illegally reimburse employees of his former car dealership for donations to his political campaign.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Updated: Dec. 14, 6:07PM
Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today?
Perhaps that's what individuals seeking to donate to Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert's political action committee Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow will be asking themselves if they stumble upon a newly formed -- and similarly named -- super PAC called Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Today.
There's no actual connection between Colbert's 'super PAC' -- which the comedian has used as a means to sarcastically advocate for fewer restrictions on money in politics -- and Americans For A Better Tomorrow Today, which filed its paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last week. But Todd Bailey, custodian of records and treasurer for the new group, said Colbert had "raised a lot of awareness around the issue" and provided his (mostly anonymous) clients with an opportunity.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
A campaign finance lawyer flags this part of the Washington Post's story on Newt Gingrich's massive $1.2 million campaign debt:
One of the campaign's biggest creditors is Gingrich himself, who billed the campaign more than $125,000 for a mailing list and travel expenses, about half of which remained unpaid at the end of last quarter. PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: FEC, Federal Election Commission, Newt Gingrich
Updated: Dec. 1, 1:05PM
The Federal Election Commission deadlocked on a request by Karl Rove's "super PAC" to allow advertisements shot in coordination with candidates for federal office to be considered uncoordinated and not amount to in-kind donations. A motion in support of a draft opinion to reject the request failed on a three-to-three party line vote.
Republican FEC member Donald McGhan lead the questioning of a lawyer for American Crossroads, the conservative "super PAC" that is requesting to run advertisements featuring federal candidates for office.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Does the introduction of so-called "super PACs" drastically change the political landscape or is it just the next logical step of increasing the impact of money in politics? One person who's not sure: former Republican Senator and current super PAC chairman Norm Coleman.
"So is it a continuum? Is it an ebb and flow? Or is it -- from a little different perspective -- a fundamental paradigm shift in the way American elections are conducted? Because I feel it's a little of that too, even though it's an ebb and flow, because the level of coordination that outside groups can do among themselves but not with candidates and not with parties is pretty incredible," Coleman said at a breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor on Tuesday.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Federal Election Commission is supposed to rule this week on an issue Stephen Colbert has given a lot of attention: a request from Karl Rove's American Crossroads "super PAC" to let groups like theirs coordinate filming "uncoordinated" advertisements with federal candidates.
Last week, the FEC posted four draft responses to the request for an advisory opinion. That means there's a strong possibility that the FEC wouldn't give any advice on the topic because they can't get four votes for any of the drafts. But just in case they do, here's how each finding would break down.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Federal Election Commission is set to tell Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Tea Party Caucus, that he can't become the first politician in the country to form his very own "super PAC" during their public meeting next week.
A draft ruling posted by the FEC on Wednesday in response to a request for an advisory opinion Lee filed last month would deny the Utah Republican and his leadership PAC, the Constitutional Conservatives Fund PAC, the ability to create a separate account for unlimited contributions -- or "soft money" -- used to fuel independent expenditure ads.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)by Marian Wang ProPublica
Ask any campaign-finance expert about super PACs and you'll likely keep hearing one word: "coordination." That's because Super PACs -- the super-powered groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from anyone -- have just one crucial restriction on their powers: By law, they're not supposed to coordinate with candidates.
Think that sounds clear? Think again.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)by Kim Barker ProPublica
In the peculiar post-Citizens United world of political money, Josue Larose has assumed a new alter-ego: Super PAC man.
Since the Supreme Court ruling paved the way for groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of candidates, 240 so-called Super PACs have registered with the Federal Election Commission. Larose -- purported millionaire, alleged economist and general man of mystery -- has formed 60 of them, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that tracks money in politics.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Stephen Colbert's "super PAC" Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow last week asked supporters to write the Federal Election Commission in "support" of American Crossroads' request to, essentially, coordinate "non-coordinated" campaign advertisements with politicians.
Colbert was mocking a request for an advisory opinion sent to the FEC on behalf of Karl Rove's American Crossroads which stated: "While these advertisements would be fully coordinated with incumbent Members of Congress facing re-election in 2012, they would presumably not qualify as 'coordinated communications."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block over allegations his former group Prosperity USA footed the bill "for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas" to help get the Cain campaign off the ground.
The complaint, CREW said in a news release, alleges that Block "personally violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by authorizing the illegal corporate contributions as president of Prosperity USA, and then by accepting the illegal contributions as treasurer of Friends of Herman Cain." CREW says this would make Block "the first person in the history of the Act to have both given and received the same illegal contributions."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Relying on Herman Cain's Chief Of Staff Mark Block to investigate his own financial dealings is "like asking Willie Sutton to hire an independent counsel," a former Cain regional field staffer told TPM in an interview this week.
The staffer, who worked with Block and implemented his campaign strategy, said the famous smoker is not to be trusted to get to the bottom of whether, as documents appear to show, his company Prosperity USA footed the bill "for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas" to get the Cain campaign off the ground.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Updated: October 31, 11:35AM
Long before Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block was appearing in the most mocked campaign ad of the presidential campaign so far, he and deputy chief of staff Linda Hansen started a Wisconsin corporation that the Journal Sentinel reports illegally helped the GOP presidential candidate get his campaign off the ground.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Herman Cain's political campaign has been paying his own company out of his campaign coffers, TPM reported on Monday night:
A review of Cain's last two FEC reports shows the campaign transferring just over $100,000 in cash to Herman Cain T.H.E. New Voice, a company that promotes Cain's books and political philosophy.
The Federal Election Commission has provided "wide latitude for candidates when it comes to campaign spending," Public Citizen's Craig Holman explained: "But such spending for goods and services from a personal business cannot be less than market value, or it would constitute an illegal corporate contributions, and it cannot be above market value, or it would indicate converting campaign funds for personal use."
"Nevertheless, no serious presidential candidate will wade into these murky waters," Holman continued.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Linda McMahon's appearance in a World Wrestling Entertainment ad for the Make-a-Wish Foundation during her 2010 run for Senate violated elections law, but the Federal Election Commission is going to let is slide.
The Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee alleged that the WWE -- run by McMahon's husband, Vince -- illegally coordinated corporate in-kind contributions with her campaign.
In a decision made public on Friday, the FEC found that everything besides the Make-a-Wish Foundation ad was on the up-and-up and decided not to do anything about her two-second appearance in the ad as a matter of prosecutorial discretion.
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)Until now, there's been two kinds of political action committees. There's your classic PAC, capable of making contributions to federal candidates, but which only runs on donations from individual donors capped at $5,000. Than there are "super" PACs, fueled by unlimited donations from corporations and capable of making independent expenditures, but unable to donate directly to candidates.
Now, thanks to a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, you can have the best of both worlds with what the campaign finance world has already dubbed a "hybrid PAC." If you're stuck with a regular old PAC, it's super easy to upgrade. All you have to do is open a separate bank account.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The progressive organization MoveOn.org has reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay $43,000 in civil penalties for failing to notify the agency about independent expenditures totaling over half a million dollars during the 2008 election.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The chairman of the congressional campaign of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) is asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to authorize the use of $2,200 in campaign funds to pay for security improvements to the family home where she's recovering from her injuries.
Security updates recommended by Capitol Police include improving the home's exterior lighting and locks and the installation of a duress alarm button.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)A newly formed political action committee aimed at defeating President Barack Obama took in $9,780.00 in just a few months. And they didn't even have to spell his name correctly to do it.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)A former business partner of Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) told federal officials back in 2009 that the congressman instructed him to have employees of their car dealership write checks to his political campaign for which they would then be reimbursed.
Donors didn't exactly throw money at the political action committee behind an offensive campaign video that featured "gangsters" tossing cash at a stripper portraying Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA), who won the special election for CA-36 earlier this month.
Turn Right USA's recent report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows the group took in just $285 in July, a reporting period that covered the two-week period after the group released the controversial Internet video aimed at drawing attention to Hahn's supposed connections to "hardcore gangsters."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Stephen Colbert's new "Super PAC" Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow will not report donations until 2012.
The treasurer of the political action committee created by the Comedy Central host wrote a letter to the Federal Election Commission informing the agency they would be changing the filing frequency to semi-annual for 2011. That means the group wouldn't have to report who donated to the group until January 2012.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)When the Federal Election Commission unanimously approved an advisory opinion last week that said federal candidates could only solicit up to $5,000 on behalf of so-called super PACs, they were either scoring one for campaign finance reform or helping politicians delude democracy. It just depends on who you ask.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Turns out that Stephen Colbert's "Super PAC" won't be called "Colbert Super PAC" after all.
Instead, according to paperwork Colbert filed in person with the Federal Election Commission in person yesterday, the "Super PAC" will go by "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)A Luxembourg-based subsidiary of Koch Industries has admitted to making illegal campaign contributions to political candidates and committees.
INVISTA is a limited liability company involved in the textile manufacturing business that is organized in Luxembourg but headquartered in Kansas. They admitted in a filing with the Federal Election Commission that was disclosed this week that they made 12 contributions totally $26,800 to various political committees between Nov. 2005 and Oct. 2009.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)As Stephen Colbert did his victory lap outside the Federal Election Commission's headquarters on Thursday, the six commissioners still inside the hearing voted on a measure that will have a much bigger effect on the 2012 election.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Federal Election Commission gets it -- Stephen Colbert is punking them. But the FEC treated the Comedy Central host's request for an advisory opinion like anyone else, and on Thursday granted him the ability to form a "super PAC."
Their ruling allows his parent company Viacom to pay for most of their "coverage" of Colbert Super PAC's activities under a press exemption without having to disclose such expenditures as in-kind donations.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. Ron Johnson's $10 million post-election windfall from his former company not only raises eyebrows among election lawyers, but the lump-sum payout also could raise serious red flags for the IRS, according to legal experts and accountants.
The Wisconsin Republican, a Tea Party favorite who defeated Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) last year, received a $10 million payment in deferred compensation from his former plastics company, Pacur, weeks after his $9 million self-financed 2010 campaign for Senate came to an end.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Your average meeting of the Federal Election Commission is lucky to attract one reporter - usually Ken Doyle, the senior editor of the trade publication BNA's Money & Politics Report. "I've been there many times when he and I were the only people in the audience," campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel told TPM.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Former Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell told supporters in an email earlier this month that the Federal Election Commission "dismissed the politically motivated complaint against me that was filed by my opponents last summer."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The Federal Election Commission (FEC) looks set to approve Stephen Colbert's request for a press exemption that would allow him to promote his "super PAC" on-air without Viacom having to report it as an in-kind contribution.
Poking fun at Karl Rove offering "commentary" on his own super PAC American Crossroads on Fox News under a press exemption, Colbert said he wanted to report on his "super PAC" without Comedy Central's parent company Viacom having to report the air time and production costs as an in-kind contribution.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
