elect020807
On the homepage
Pardon Board
Out There
Petters
Vikings
GOP group accused of flouting campaign finance law
DFLers say an independent group formed to defeat Mike Hatch in the governor's race broke the law by commingling funds with a like-minded national GOP funding group.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on DiggMore from Politically Connected
DFL Party officials filed a complaint with the state's campaign finance board Wednesday alleging that a Minnesota political group organized late in the 2006 campaign to defeat DFL gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch may have illegally mixed its funds with a federal committee.
DFL Chairman Brian Melendez produced photocopies of campaign finance reports showing contributions from the same individuals on the same day and in the same amount to A Strong America-Minnesota and to A Stronger America, a Virginia-based federal group whose principals had a hand in the so-called Swift Boat attacks on presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.
Melendez said that the national group received corporate contributions and that commingling the funds with a Minnesota group for TV ads attacking a candidate by name would constitute an illegal corporate contribution.
The complaint was dismissed as "frivolous" by Republican consultant Joe Weber, a spokesman for A Stronger America-Minnesota. All filings and activities of the Minnesota group were "done under rigorous legal review by lawyers in Minnesota and Washington," Weber said.
Questions had already been raised about A Stronger America-Minnesota, although the DFL Campaign Finance complaint is the first allegation of illegality. Hatch and DFLers have complained that the group, which spent $700,000 on TV ads and other activities, was formed late so that the identity of contributors could legally be hidden until after the election.
Among the contributors shown on federal and state disclosure forms was Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who donated $500,000 and who donated $4.5 million in 2004 to the tax-exempt organization Swift Vets and POWs for Truth.
After the 2004 election, Republicans leveled similar commingling charges against DFL House Minority Leader Matt Entenza and two groups called 21st Century Democrats, one in Minnesota and one in Washington.
In that case, the board fined the Minnesota group and its national parent more than $300,000, the largest fine in the board's history. The board found no wrongdoing by Entenza.
Melendez said the Stronger America effort might have made the difference in the election, which Gov. Tim Pawlenty won by only 21,000 votes.
"We knew that A Stronger America-Minnesota violated the disclosure law's spirit and purpose when the group concealed its big-money, out-of-state donations until after the election," Melendez said. "Now it appears that this stealth-attack PAC also violated the letter of the law as well."
Republicans argue that independent groups and the DFL Party were outspending Pawlenty and his allied groups. Mike Krueger, Pawlenty's campaign manager, estimates that Hatch, the DFL Party and an independent group called Alliance for a Better Minnesota spent $7.5 million, while Pawlenty, the Republican Party and A Stronger America spent a combined $5.6 million.
The campaign finances disputes in 2004 and 2006 have prompted action. The Senate gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would require immediate disclosure of contributions made to independent committees or parties in the final two weeks before an election. Under current law, late contributions do not show up on disclosure reports until after the election. A similar bill is pending in the House and Pawlenty's office has signalled that he supports it.
Dane Smith • 651-292-0164 • rdsmith@startribune.com
Recent Politically Connected stories
Obama predicts conviction of professed 9/11 mastermind; Holder calls failure 'not an option' - February 7, 2007
Obama predicts conviction of professed 9/11 mastermind; Holder calls failure 'not an option' - President Barack Obama predicted that professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be convicted and executed as Attorney General Eric Holder proclaimed: "Failure is not an option." More
The Whistleblower blog has moved
The Star Tribune is still blowing the whistle, but our look and location have changed. Click here to get to the new blog. If you want the actual URL, it’s www.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower.html. Our blog posts will now be easier to search on the web site, but you’ll need to register to post a comment. In the [...]
Recent posts
  Open positions!A new career awaits. Look through thousands of listings to find your new job. Start now! Get A ProfessionalFind home maintenance, car repair, legal advice, cleaning, and more in the Yellow Pages. Go now! |
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments