A jury trial gets underway Monday for a Montana lawmaker accused of pledging loyalty to the causes o
Source: Associated Press
A jury trial gets underway Monday for a Montana lawmaker accused of pledging loyalty to the causes of dark-money groups in exchange for unreported and illegal campaign assistance
By MATT VOLZ Associated Press
March 28, 2016 - 3:39 am EDT
HELENA, Montana — A jury trial gets underway Monday for a Montana lawmaker accused of pledging loyalty to the causes of dark-money groups in exchange for unreported and illegal campaign assistance that included direct mail to voters, fundraising tools and website design.
The civil trial of state Rep. Art Wittich will have implications beyond whether the Bozeman Republican is removed from office if the jury finds he coordinated with the groups in violation of state campaign finance laws. It could set a precedent for other open cases connected to a Montana campaign regulator's theory that the National Right to Work Committee and its affiliates illegally traded a slate of campaign services for the loyalty of 14 hand-picked Republican legislative candidates in 2010 and 2012.
The case's outcome also will influence a constitutional challenge of Montana's campaign contribution limits, one of the first lawsuits in the nation seeking to strike down state caps since the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010 that allowed unlimited independent corporate spending in elections. The case hinges on whether Montana can prove the limits — among the lowest in the nation — are preventing actual corruption or its appearance, and attorneys for the state have offered the cases against Wittich and other candidates as that proof.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl brought the cases against Wittich and eight of the other Republican candidates after an investigation that began when hundreds of pages of documents belonging to Right to Work affiliate Western Tradition Partnership turned up in what authorities described as a meth house in Denver in 2012. The documents contained bank records, copies of checks and the digitally scanned signatures of several Montana legislative candidates.
Read more: http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/fd98e4f91b4c4622857458eff7c05c49/MT--Dark-Money-Trial
= new reply since forum marked as read
Why do Republicans do everything in the DARK?
Why do they routinely hide the truth from the citizens of the USA?
What's up with all that darkside shit?
This is not a complaint regarding this episode's correct status as LBN. Rather, I want to see this get more exposure.
This incident started long ago. It involves Texas congressman Steve Stockman's spokesman Donny Ferguson, who set up a website he purported to be that of the "Montana Statesman." He did this as an attempt to fool people into believing that this was a newspaper in Montana. There was no such newspaper. The website is long gone; you'll have to go to the Wayback machine to find caches of it.
Previously at DU:
Dark money: Lawmaker's attempt to toss complaint rejected
20 hours ago • Associated Press
HELENA — A judge has rejected the Montana Senate majority leader's attempt to dismiss charges that his campaign took illegal contributions and coordinated with a conservative group.
District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled Monday the case against Sen. Art Wittich can go on.
Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl filed a civil complaint earlier this year alleging the Bozeman Republican violated campaign-finance laws in his dealings with Western Tradition Partnership in 2010.
Western Tradition Partnership is Donny Ferguson's group. Google DU; he's been mentioned here many times. He's Steve Stockman's spokesman, and, when this post first appeared, in 2014, he was still getting money from Virginia hate group nabob Eugene Delgaudio.
Documents Found In Meth House Bare Inner Workings Of Dark Money Group
Posted: Tuesday, July 8, 2014 5:47 pm
TROY CARTER, Chronicle Staff Writer
A Helena District Court judge has denied a motion to dismiss a campaign practices lawsuit filed against state Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich (R-Bozeman) for allegedly taking illegal corporate contributions.
....
Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl filed the civil lawsuit against Wittich after finding that he and eight other Republicans — including Bozeman state Sen. Scott Sales — broke the law by coordinating with and taking contributions from Western Tradition Partnership in 2010.
....
Troy Carter can be reached at 582-2630 or tcarter@dailychronicle.com.
DO NOT MISS THIS STORY MONTANA DUERS!!
Documents Found In Meth House Bare Inner Workings Of Dark Money Group
PBS Frontline: Documents connecting SuperPAC to GOP politicians found in Montana meth lab
Virginia link to Frontline story about outside money in Montana
Learning from the master of corrupt politics himself
Donny, as many Loudoun residents know, is the mastermind of periodic sleazy robocalls which attempt to spread dirt on candidates just before an election. Because his “American Tradition Partnership” claims to be a “social welfare non-profit” organization, it is allowed only to “educate” voters on “issues,” not endorse candidates. It is illegal for such organizations to coordinate with campaigns.
Mysterious Docs Found in Meth House Reveal Inner Workings of Dark Money Group
The documents pointed to one outside group pulling the candidates’ strings: a social welfare nonprofit called Western Tradition Partnership, or WTP.
....
In the meantime, the group has changed its name to American Tradition Partnership, reflecting its larger ambitions. This month, it sent Montana voters a mailer in the form of a newspaper called the Montana Statesman that claimed to be the state’s “largest & most trusted news source.”
The front page accused the Democratic gubernatorial candidate of being soft on sex offenders.
Donny Ferguson, American Tradition Partnership’s spokesman and executive director, did not specifically address the documents found in Colorado or allegations of coordination made against WTP.
About the Statesman
An award-winning newspaper veteran, Ferguson has been commended by other newspapers for his “honest, intelligent and issue-oriented” approach.
A political independent, Ferguson was previously involved in efforts to investigate and prosecute corruption in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
[img]
[/img]Contact America Tradition
Fax Number: 202-204-6051
Donny Ferguson, National Director of Media & Public Relations
(703) 200-3669
donald.f@americantradition.org
202 is in DC, and 703 is in Virginia.
Candidate Donny Ferguson
Donny Ferguson (L-36)
#AGE: 28
#CAMPAIGN MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 3134, Reston, Va. 20195
#CAMPAIGN PHONE: 703-200-3669
#E-MAIL: Donny@DonnyFerguson.com
#WEBSITE: www.donnyferguson.com
#OCCUPATION: Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, staff
#EMPLOYMENT: Loudoun County citizens
#EDUCATION: Texas A&M University, 1995-1998, Political Science
Geektools for DonnyFerguson.com
Administrative Contact:
Ferguson, Donny donny_ferguson@yahoo.com
PO Box 3134
Reston, VA 20195
US
+1.7032003669
Technical Contact:
Ferguson, Donny donny_ferguson@yahoo.com
PO Box 3134
Reston, VA 20195
US
+1.7032003669
LinkedIn profile
President, Ferguson Worldwide
Location
Washington D.C. Metro Area
Industry
Public Relations and Communications
