*? 2 ALL: CHRISTINE O'DONNELL ALLEGEDLY UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION -
WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS?*
The Associated Press reported today
that federal officials have reportedly
opened a criminal probe into whether
former Republican Senate candidate
Christine O'Donnell (above) broke
the law by using campaign money to
pay personal expenses. (see below)
=========
Hi Team!
*? 2 ALL:
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL ALLEGEDLY
UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION -
WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS?*
Greg Dempsey
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SECULARHUMANIST/
Voice of the People
========
TPMMuckraker
Report: Feds Open Criminal Investigation Into Christine O'Donnell's
Campaign Spending
Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 2:22PM
The feds are looking into whether O'Donnell's spent $20,000 dollars in
campaign money on personal expenses and rent, MSNBC reported. The
probe stems from a complaint by the group Citizens For Responsibility
And Ethics In Washington (CREW) which was filed back in September.
A person speaking on condition of anonymity told the AP of the probe,
and said two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware are
handling the investigation, which has not been sent to a grand jury. A
spokewoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Delaware did not
immediately respond to TPM's message seeking comment.
O'Donnell set a state record by raising more than $7.3 million for her
campaign but has faced questions about her campaign finances. TPM
reported that her last minute campaign hires included an anti-gay
crusader and that she spent $200,000 on her "I'm Not A Witch" and Yale
ads.
When CREW made the complaint back in September, O'Donnell's lawyer
attacked the organization by arguing that the group lacked credibility
because of donations from George Soros.
But O'Donnell basically admitted that CREW's main charge were true
back in October, conceding she used campaign cash to pay rent on her
Delaware town house because it doubled as campaign headquarters, which
CREW charged amounted to using her primary campaign "as her personal
ATM." Commission rules "say candidates can't use campaign money for
their mortgage or rent 'even if part of the residence is being used by
the campaign'."
Late Update: The AP reports that the complaint is based largely on a
sworn statement by David Keegan, who was a campaign finance consultant
for O'Donnell.
Also, CREW Executive Melanie Sloan told the AP in September that
O'Donnell thought that no one "would look at her campaign finances
very closely because she was not considered a serious candidate."
Looking at Federal Election Commission Requests for Additional
Information, it appears O'Donnell's assumption about her unimportance
was correct until mid November of 2010. Though she had been filing FEC
discolsure forms since 2008, five of the six requests for additional
information were filed on November 16 or later.
Additional reporting by Alex Sciuto.
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Tommy
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