October 02, 2007
CA Dems Want FEC, DOJ Probes of Rudy Donor's Dollars
LOS ANGELES -- CA Dem activists filed an FEC complaint 10/1 about a $175K donation given to a GOP-friendly CA ballot initiative by Rudy Giuliani '08 regional finance chair Paul Singer.
The complaint seeks FEC and DOJ opinions of whether Singer's money possibly violated the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Named as the complaint's respondents are Giuliani and Singer, a NY hedge fund billionaire and GOP donor who's very tight with the ex-NYC mayor.
Singer indirectly gave $175K in seed money to the creators of The Presidential Election Reform Act, which if passed by voters in 6/08 would change CA's electoral votes from winner-take-all to being allocated by congressional district.
Singer confirmed to New York's Daily News last week that he funded the initiative's group, Californians for Equal Representation.
The money was sent via an attorney for Take Back America, an obscure MO non-profit which caught the attention of activists fighting the initiative such as Dem strategist Chris Lehane.
Giuliani on 9/28 told reporters in Los Angeles that he didn't know the Take Back America atty or the initiative's Singer donations and added that he hasn't been following the ballot measure.
“I had no part in that. I have no knowledge of it (the initiative) internally...I see what I see in the newspapers. We've never discussed it internally," he said. "As far as I am concerned, you can leave it (CA's winner-take-all electoral voting) the way it is. This is a state I can win.”
Giuliani campaign spokesman Jarrod Agen stated there was no link between Singer's initiative money and the former NYC mayor; "This is completely independent from our campaign and frankly, it's not an initiative that serves our campaign's best interests."
As problems with the Singer money unfolded, abrupt resignations were announced on 9/27 by initiative spokesman Kevin Eckery and treasurer Tom Hiltachk, the GOP-allied atty who wrote the ballot measure. Also quitting was fundraiser Marty Wilson, an ex-aide to CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who on 9/05 dismissed the initiative because, "it almost feels like a loser's mentality."
The initiative's signature-gathering efforts were halted last week and CA's Fair Political Practices Commission is looking into the Singer money. [DAVID FINNIGAN]
Posted at 07:01 AM
Comments
Um, didn't these people (or their lawyers) read the most recent Supreme Court decision striking down an interpretation of BCRA as too strict? (Wisc. Right to Life.)
And since when does state-level money for a state initiative "given indirectly" come under BCRA? BCRA only covers "federal election-related activity" (FEA). Haven't seen the complaint, but it would seem a stretch to call a state-level initiative something federal election-related. Does this mean that all those involved in initiatives dealing with state primaries (like today's Washington State cases) are also using hard federal dollars? And does this mean that anyone discussing BCRA, which is often referred to as "McCain-Feingold," are actually campaigning for or against John McCain (or, gasp, Russ Feingold), and thus coming within BCRA?
Someone call Jim Bopp!!
pining for Chuck Todd | 10.02.07 01:36 PM
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