May 23, 2008
Funny Money
John McCain's presidential campaign has finally paid off its debt to 3eDC, a private Web company linked to campaign manager Rick Davis and his longtime lobbying pal, Paul Manafort. But there's one big curiosity: Last year, the cash-starved campaign, without explanation, reported to the Federal Election Commission that 3eDC's bill had been reduced by $107,000.
In the end, 3eDC was paid $972,000, not the $1,079,000 originally billed.
"It's always a serious question for the public and auditors when over $100,000 is removed without explanation from a financial disclosure report," says Kent Cooper, a political money expert and former FEC official. "Indeed, this raises the question of whether actual services were provided and the bill was reduced, making it an illegal corporate contribution."
But a campaign spokesman says that 3eDC determined, in reconciling invoices, that the campaign actually owed the company less money than shown in FEC reports. 3eDC did not respond to several requests for comment.
(National Journal's EDWARD T. POUND)
Posted at 01:19 PM
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