FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group

[Eugene]

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-fec-political-lawsuit,0,4290253.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group

By SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press Writer

September 19, 2005, 5:06 PM EDT

WASHINGTON -- Federal election officials Monday sued a political group
to try to force it to comply with campaign finance limits, the first
lawsuit of its kind to arise from big-money fundraising during the
2004 elections.

The Federal Election Commission filed a complaint in U.S. District
Court in Washington against the Club for Growth. The pro-Republican
group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-04 election cycle.

The FEC contends the group spent enough in federal races to require it
to file with the commission as a political committee and abide by
limits on contributions and spending.

<snip>

more...

[OnionPatch]

1. And I toast that move

with a bit, steaming latte! }(

[Zinfandel]

2. What difference does it make? They'll keep doing it and win elections.

They only get caught after the election is over with, so they don't give a shit! They'll keep doing it, win elections and pay a fine after their Republicans scum is in office to stay...(very few incumbents lose elections).

[bigbrother05]

3. Found this link

Must read

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=9345

[GOPAgainstGW]

25. Thanks

[Pirate Smile]

4. FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group

FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group

By SHARON THEIMER
The Associated Press
Monday, September 19, 2005; 8:40 PM

WASHINGTON -- Federal election officials on Monday sued a political group to try to force it to comply with campaign finance limits, the first lawsuit of its kind to arise from controversial big-money fundraising during the 2004 elections.

The Federal Election Commission filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-04 election cycle.


The FEC contends the Club spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and abide by contribution and spending limits. It wants the court to fine the group and to order it to comply with campaign finance rules.

Club for Growth President Pat Toomey called the FEC lawsuit "a bizarre interpretation of the Club's mission, the Constitution, the laws adopted by Congress and their own regulations governing nonprofit organizations."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901020.html

[Doctor_J]

5. There's only one thing to do

Disband the FEC

[madfloridian]

6. Every time I hear of that group I think of that nasty ad against Dean.

I think they ran it in Iowa. The "latte drinking" "volvo driving" "birkenstock wearing" ad.

It was so nasty.

[GOPAgainstGW]

21. & the Ones Against Kerry - eom

[susanna]

7. Yeah. And the

"nothing to see here, move along" brigade can point to this as vindication. Regardless how screwed up our elections have become, you'll now see the GOP say, "The FEC sued some of our guys, so everything must be on the up-and-up." Or that's my take.

[GOPAgainstGW]

8. FEC Sues Pro-GOP Group Over Fundraising

WASHINGTON — Federal election officials on Monday sued a pro-Republican political group to try to force it to comply with campaign finance limits, the first lawsuit of its kind to arise from big-money fundraising during the 2004 elections. The Federal Election Commission (search) filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth. The group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-04 election cycle.

The FEC contends the group spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and to abide by contribution and spending limits. FEC Vice Chairman Michael Toner (search) called the case "one of the most important suits the commission has brought in recent years."

<snip>

Full Story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169822,00.html

[loudsue]

9. Well halleluia!!! FINALLY!!

And may the republicans at the Club for Growth, and it's satanic spawn, rot in the belly of hell.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Rainscents]

10. AMEN!

[GOPAgainstGW]

11. Full Coverage Articles - NYT & WP:

New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20fec.html
Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901020.html
---------------

New York Times - September 20, 2005
F.E.C. Sues Republican Group Over Political Contributions

<snip>

The suit is the first major enforcement case to involve a "527 committee," the independent political organizations that both Republicans and Democrats used to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2004 races.

Commission officials describe it as a test case that could have a major impact on how future elections are financed. "This is one of the most important suits the commission has brought in the last decade," said Michael Toner, the commission's Republican vice chairman.

Last year's election was the first conducted under the McCain-Feingold law of 2002, which banned political parties from accepting unlimited contributions known as soft money. However, donors continued to direct six- and seven-figure checks to 527 committees, which argued that they could still legally accept unlimited soft money contributions.

<snip>

The Club for Growth, which has more than 30,000 members, advocates conservative economic policies and for years has backed candidates who share those views.

<snip>

The suit alleges that the organization failed to properly register with the commission as a political committee, which would subject the group to contribution limits and other regulations, and that it raised millions in excessive contributions in recent years. Officials at the club said they had done nothing improper.

The case stems from a complaint filed against the group by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in connection with a television advertisement broadcast last year. The commission voted to file the suit Monday after talks between the two parties failed to reach an out-of-court agreement, according to the F.E.C.

<snip>

[badgervan]

12. This Could Be Big....

YES!!! Keep an eye on this - could be the beginning of the end for the Big Money boys controlling our elections.

[GOPAgainstGW]

13. Club For Growth "The Inside Dirt" - Very Interesting

About The Club for Growth: (CFG)
The Club for Growth is a national network of over 30,000 men and women, from all walks of life, who believe that prosperity and opportunity come through economic freedom.

The Club for Growth exists to encourage, and make possible, the enactment of pro-growth economic policies by the federal government. The primary tactic of the Club for Growth PAC has been to provide financial support from Club members to viable pro-growth candidates to Congress, particularly in Republican primaries.

Club for Growth Policy Goals:
Making the Bush tax cuts permanent
Death tax repeal
Cutting and limiting government spending
Social Security reform with personal retirement accounts
Expanding free trade
Legal reform to end abusive lawsuits
Replacing the current tax code
School choice
Regulatory reform an deregulation

Home Page:
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/
============

Opensecrets.org Info on 527-The Club For Growth:

Club for Growth - Top Contributors, 2006 Cycle
http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.asp?cycle=2006&ein=522155986&format=&type=c&tname=Club%20for%20Growth

My Comments: - A real Who's Who of big time Papa Bush Family mafia members on that contribution list particulary Bob Perry/Perry Homes, that is Tom DeLay's #1 contributor and will end up in jail with DeLay if the "powers" can ever nail the bastard off the Grand Jury investigation and uncovered Enron documents. Bob Perry et. al. is also Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (no relation) #1 donor. Bob Perry was also the driving force and donor behind the Swift Boat fraud/scam against John Kerry.

EOE, Inc. is a top CFG contributor. That's Jackson Stephens, extremely wealthy, and a major Papa Bush long-time friend. Stephens put together an investment banking deal to bail Sonny Boy GW Bush out of that mess he created with Harkens Energy when it was going down the dumper.

Richard Gilder is a top contributor for $300,000. Another big time investment banker and friend of Papa Bush, although Gilder is starting to get very pissed off with Sonny Boy GW Bush screwing everything up. Gilder et. al. is also a big time Tom DeLay donor/controller.

Would have to do some quick digging, but The Club for Growth was getting fairly large donation money from one of Tom DeLay's PAC's also. ($50,000 - $100,000 a pop, if I remember right) Also Club for Growth leaders "spent a lot of time in Tom DeLays's office", if you understand what I mean.
~~~~~~

Looks like more than meets the eye on the FEC going after Club for Growth (CFG). There has been a lot of in-fighting between the Bush-GOP top Nazi leaders and CFG leadership because CFG is not doing what BushCo wants, blah, blah. BushCo may have put the FEC on CFG's butt to teach them a lesson. That's what it looks like to me/us. Have to do a little more digging on the subject.
####

Update1:

Damn, I'm reviewing the contributions for the last three years to The Club for Growth (CFG) and it's many of Papa Herbert W Bush's closest friends and allies going back 25 years. I mean they have given millions the last 3 years to the CFG.

And now a Republican at the FEC is beating on the CFG and making a big case example of them. Something is going down, this is a big deal! Just further confirms the wheels are falling off the GOP Nazi machine.

[wakeme2008]

17. Here is 2004

http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527cmtedetail.asp?cycle=2004&ein=522155986&tname=Club%20for%20Growth&format=

[applegrove]

14. Yeah!

[GOPAgainstGW]

15. FEC Vice Chairman Michael Toner - A Diehard Republican...

yet he is now trying to drag down a major Bush Family Campaign vehicle, The Club for Growth, that contributed over $21 million in the 03-04 election cycles and he said it's going to be a "major test case". Very Interesting!
--------------

Michael E. Toner, Vice Chairman of the FEC
Biography

Michael E. Toner was nominated to the Federal Election Commission by President George W. Bush on March 4, 2002 and appointed on March 29, 2002. Mr. Toner was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 18, 2003.

Prior to being appointed to the FEC, Mr. Toner served as Chief Counsel of the Republican National Committee. Mr. Toner joined the RNC in 2001 after serving as General Counsel of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team in Washington, DC and General Counsel of the Bush-Cheney 2000 Presidential Campaign in Austin, TX.

Before joining the Bush campaign in Austin, Mr. Toner was Deputy Counsel at the RNC from 1997-1999. Prior to his tenure at the RNC, Mr. Toner served as Counsel to the Dole/Kemp Presidential Campaign in 1996.

Mr. Toner was an associate attorney at Wiley, Rein, & Fielding in Washington, DC from 1992-1996. His work there included advising political committees and corporate clients on federal and state election law compliance. He was also involved in a number of First and Fourteenth Amendment appellate litigation matters, including two cases that were successful in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Toner has written widely on campaign finance matters, including in the Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Times, and Roll Call. Mr. Toner is a contributing author in the recent book Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election (edited by Professor Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia Center for Politics). Mr. Toner has also appeared as a guest commentator on Fox News Channel and C-SPAN.

Mr. Toner has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the William and Mary Law School and as a lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Toner received a J.D. cum laude from Cornell Law School in 1992, an M.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1989, and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia in 1986. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia bars, as well as the United States Supreme Court bar, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia.

[GOPAgainstGW]

16. The Dirt Behind the Dirt - Recent Tom DeLay Related Indicements

Here is what's going on. More indictments are on the way. Should know in the next several weeks. All this indictment mess has to do with DeLay and BushCo buddies illegal front operations in Texas redistricting. Then using their Texas Bush Family mafia organization for funnel-up ops to Washington to control it.

The grand jury investigation has been going on for 3 years in Austin. BushCo mafia members, Texas Gov Rick Perry & his admin (BuchCo mafia), and many others (Washington and local) have been trying everything possible to stop this grand jury investigation.

DeLay was hit, and also his daughter, with full subpoenas 18 months ago. Two of DeLay's TRMPAC PAC underlings - John Colyandro and Jim Ellis now face sentences up to 99 years in prison on money-laundering charges. Grand jury has been trying to drag down DeLay on the same type of charges. The story has been buried under all the Hurricane Katrina news coverage the last several weeks. I made many posts on this subject last year here at DU-GOPAgainstGW

====New Articles Clips======
Tom DeLay's, Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC) Indicted
Sep 9, 2005

Tom DeLay's, Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC) was indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury on September 8th for two counts of illegally using corporate donations in the 2002 Texas-statewide election.

The indictment charges the PAC as an organization, but not Tom Delay specifically, although the majority leader is the founder of TRMPAC's, and oversaw the committee at the time of the donations-in-question. Ronnie Earle, the Travis County District Attorney, "hinted that he might have indicted DeLay if the congressional leader had fallen under his jurisdiction. Because DeLay lives in Sugar Land, jurisdiction under Texas election law would fall to Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey Jr." Earle has left open the possibility that the board of advisors be held liable for TRMPAC's violations.
<snip>
-----------

TRMPAC Indicted On Charges Of Illegal Campaign Donations. "A grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions. The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public Thursday...The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care." On September 13, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro were personally indicted on charges of conspiracy to violate Texas campaign finance laws.
<snip>

Houston Chronicle Full Article
-------------------------------
DeLay's PAC Indicted
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3346049

################

Two Tom DeLay Top Political Aides - Addidional Indictments
September 16, 2005

Yesterday, two of Tom DeLay’s top political aides were indicted on additional felony charges of violating Texas election law and criminal conspiracy to violate election law for their effort to improperly influence the outcome of the 2002 Texas legislative races.

Jim Ellis, the head of Americans for a Republican Majority, and John Colyandro, the former executive director of Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), were also indicted last week on money laundering charges in connection with transferring $190,000 to the RNC in 2002, which was later funneled back to Texas -- allegedly skirting campaign finance law. The principal directors of these two organizations, Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay and former RNC Chairman Marc Racicot, bear responsibility for their organizations' actions, which is why DNC Chairman Howard Dean has called on Leader DeLay to resign his leadership post until all investigations into allegations of his ethical misconduct have concluded.
<snip>

READ MUCH MORE ON THIS SUBJECT HERE:
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/09/tom_delay_and_t.php

[cyberpj]

19. THANKS FOR THIS INFO - I missed it. (thumbs up) nt.

[GOPAgainstGW]

23. More Current Info and Updates:

Texas Democratic Party
http://www.txdemocrats.org/

[papau]

18. F.E.C. Sues Republican Group(Club for Growth)Over Political Contributions

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20fec.html

September 20, 2005
F.E.C. Sues Republican Group Over Political Contributions
By GLEN JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - The Federal Election Commission filed suit Monday against the Club for Growth, a well-funded Republican group, in an effort to force the organization to comply with limits on political contributions.

The suit is the first major enforcement case to involve a "527 committee," the independent political organizations that both Republicans and Democrats used to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2004 races. Commission officials describe it as a test case that could have a major impact on how future elections are financed.

"This is one of the most important suits the commission has brought in the last decade," said Michael Toner, the commission's Republican vice chairman.

Last year's election was the first conducted under the McCain-Feingold law of 2002, which banned political parties from accepting unlimited contributions known as soft money. However, donors continued to direct six- and seven-figure checks to 527 committees, which argued that they could still legally accept unlimited soft money contributions.<snip>

[GOPAgainstGW]

20. Republican Internal Cannabalization - New Buzzwords around DC n/t

[jazzjunkysue]

22. It won't stop them but it will cost some nasty bigots some serious $$ in c

court. Amen and halleluia! My country is coming back!

[GOPAgainstGW]

24. Oh, more than money, trust me - eom