DUPE

[kskiska]

Money Raised for Fine, Legal Costs Related to Senate Campaign

By Walter Pincus

Attorney Gen. John D. Ashcroft's 1998 leadership PAC, Spirit of America, and his Senate reelection campaign committee, Ashcroft 2000, raised more than $100,000 last year in order to pay a fine and legal costs for violating campaign finance laws, according to Federal Election Commission records and Garrett Lott, treasurer of both committees.

The funds raised last year included individual contributions and income the leadership PAC derived from renting out a political mailing list, according to Lott and FEC records.

The use of the mailing list rental income in the 2000 reelection campaign first got Ashcroft and his committees in trouble with the FEC three years ago. Last December, the two Ashcroft committees agreed to pay a $37,000 fine levied by the FEC, based on at least four violations of federal campaign laws.

The Spirit of America PAC in 1999 and 2000 earned $165,000 from renting its mailing list to outside groups and transferred $112,000 of that money to the Ashcroft 2000 campaign committee. Election laws, the FEC ruled, permitted the Ashcroft PAC to donate only $5,000 for the primary and $5,000 for the general election to his Senate campaign committee, which it already had done.

(snip)

John Bonifaz, general counsel of the NVRI said in an interview that he was disturbed that committees carrying the name of the attorney general or associated with him are being used to raise money to pay off campaign finance penalties and related legal costs.

"It is unseemly for the nation's chief law enforcement officer, whose committees are under investigation, to use those very committees to raise funds from campaign contributors as a means for defending against possible criminal charges and paying civil fines," Bonifaz said. "Ashcroft is very powerful, and people who get called are going to feel pressure to make such contributions."

He also noted that the expenses that Ashcroft's committees are asking contributors to pay "are their own creation."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36775-2004Mar6.html

[havocmom]

1. His timing at getting ill is uncanny

Hiding out cuz Chicken hawk dick won't let him in the bunker? Or did his own vile behavior backup on him?

[Khephra]

2. Sorry kskiska, but it's a dupe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x404678

[MGKrebs]

3. Let me get this straight...

The campaign for the current ATTORNEY GENERAL broke the law, was fined, and then broke the law AGAIN in paying the fine?

You can't make this stuff up.