LONDON CALLING - U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand's European fundraising tour may land her in hot water with the Federal Elections Commission. Her staff has continued to provide different details of fundraisers the freshman Congresswoman held in Paris and London.Since majorityap.com first broke the story that Gillibrand hosted fundraisers in London, England, and Paris, France, she and her staff have insisted the events were nothing more than a friendly get together of longtime friends.
“A number of American friends, who I know well, that live out there, said can we help you,” Gillibrand explained on WROW’s Fred Dicker show, in Albany, NY.
Her spokeswoman went into even greater detail with the Albany Times Union, claiming that Gillibrand’s campaign had nothing to do with the fundraisers in London or Paris.
“Gillibrand spokeswoman Rachel McEneny said that (the London contributions were) for Gillibrand’s appearance as guest speaker,” the paper reported in May on its Capitol Confidential blog, and that “the actual fund-raising was done separately and organized by three friends of Gillibrand’s.”
Three months later, McEneny changed her story in an article appearing yesterday in the Press Republican. She now says Gillibrand’s fundraising consultant paid for the event, which shows the event was planned by her campaign, not done “separately,” as earlier claimed. McEneny made the statement to explain why Gillibrand’s campaign committee did not declare any expenses for either the Paris or London event, as required by law.
This is the second time Gillibrand’s office has given conflicting reports to the media on the freshman Democrat’s European fundraisers.
After majorityap.com reported on the London event, her office said “Gillibrand had another fund-raiser planned April 5 at the Reform Club…but it was cancelled.” Additional research conducted by majorityap.com found that the April 5 event wasn’t cancelled, as Gillibrand’s office had claimed, but was instead held in Paris, France.
Even worse news for the upstate New York Democrat is that both events appear to be in clear violation of Federal Elections Commission (FEC) campaign finance laws.
The FEC mandates that “when a campaign solicits contributions through public communications, it must include a clear and conspicuous notice on the solicitation stating that it was paid for by the campaign.” The FEC also requires that “if a communication is authorized by the campaign but paid for by another person, the communication must identify the person who paid for it and state that it was authorized by the campaign.”
Invitations to the events obtained my majorityap.com show that neither the Paris nor London fundraisers carried the FEC’s required disclosure.
If Gillibrand’s campaign organized the event, as her office claimed yesterday, Gillibrand’s campaign committee is in violation of those regulations. If Democrats Abroad organized the event, as her office claimed in May, then they are in violation of federal law. According to the FEC, Democrats Abroad is “part of the official structure of the Democratic National Committee.”
Democrats Abroad promoted the Paris and London invitations on their websites, which are also required to follow FEC regulations.
“To avoid receiving prohibited contributions,” the FEC states, “web sites soliciting contributions in connection with a federal election must inform potential contributors of all of the Act’s prohibitions, including the prohibitions on contributions from corporations, labor organizations, federal government contractors and foreign nationals.”
That Gillibrand’s fundraisers were held on foreign soil would make the caution against donations by foreign nationals all the more relevant.
Gillibrand has made a habit of holding fundraisers in far-reaching locales since her election to Congress. Her latest FEC filings show she raised more money in California than she did in her upstate New York district.
She once criticized her opponent, then U.S. Representative John Sweeney, for holding an out-of-state fundraiser.
QUESTIONABLE FUND RAISING FOR CAMPAIGNS
There is no doubt that Big money and influence peddling is ruining our Government and it's time to reform the system from top to bottom. There is no reason in the world why elected officials can't sit down and discuss the issues with special interest goups and political action committes without taking their money. Candidates often argue that they need to raise the majority of their funds from outside their local districts because they need significant amounts of money for TV ads, voter pols, signs, radio spots, campaign staff members, etc., even though this makes them more beholden to donors outside the district than to the residents within the district. I am a candidate for the Republican, Conservative and Constitution Party of NY nominations for congress in NY's 20th Congressional District and I believe that the system must be changed. I believe that if a candidate for federal office wants to change the current system with respect to receiving large contributions from select donors and special interest groups, mostly from outside the district, the candidate must set the example by: 1. limiting the amount received from individual citizens and 2. limiting the percentage of donations received from outside the district to a maximum of 10% to 15% For this reason, Morris Guller, - Democrat from Greene County (who is seeking the Democratic nomination in NY's 20 Congressional District) and I have agreed that the maximum contributions that we will accept for our individual campaigns will be Seventy-Five Dollars ($75.00) and we have also agreed to severely limit contributions received from outside the district. Posted by John Wallace Candidate for Congress NY's 20th Congressional District