Congressman Mark Green from Wisconsin shifts money from his congressional campaign account to his gubernatorial campaign account, then says with a straight face that he got rid of the money.
from the PDF press release by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Jan06/Jan12/0112dpwgreendelay.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 12, 2006
CONTACT: Jessica Erickson, Communications Director, 608-260-2406
jessicae@wisdems.org
Much To Do About Nothing
Green Puts Dirty DeLay Money In Separate Campaign Account to Spend Later;
Democrats Call on Green to Stop Playing Games, Get Rid of Cash Once and For All
MADISON – The Democratic Party of Wisconsin called on Congressman Mark Green today to drop his
ridiculous false claims that he got rid of more than $30,000 in campaign contributions from the indicted
former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and clean his campaign of the dirty cash by immediately
donating it to a nonpartisan voter registration campaign.
Yesterday, in a grandiose press conference, Green tried to fool the public into believing he is getting rid of
the tainted DeLay money. The fact remains that Green’s campaign has simply transferred the money
from one campaign account to another, where it can be spent later during his campaign for governor.
“Once again, Mark Green is trying to say one thing and do another,” said Joe Wineke, Chair of the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “In typical Washington fashion, Green is trying to make us believe he’s
gotten rid of the dirty DeLay cash, when he is really hanging on to it. If he wanted to do the right thing, he
would donate the money today.”
Green’s new excuse about why he won’t get rid of the DeLay cash: Wisconsin law prevents him from
getting rid of the money. But the truth is Wisconsin law allows him to divest his campaign of the money
immediately. Green’s campaign could donate the money today to a nonpartisan campaign to increase
voter registration or participation – like the League of Women Voters, for example – according to
Wisconsin State Statutes 11.25(2)(a)(b).
“Mark Green is trying to fool the public with fancy accounting tricks,” Wineke said. “The fact is this money
is not leaving Green’s campaign, and he can spend it at any time he thinks the public has stopped caring
about his ties to Tom Delay and the culture of corruption emanating from Washington. It’s time for Mark
Green to come clean, drop the complicated excuses, and get rid of this money once and for all by giving it
to a non-partisan voter registration campaign.”
Wineke also called on Congressman Paul Ryan, who has taken more than $25,000 from DeLay, to
immediately return the money. Ryan has flat-out refused to return the money, and tried to claim it would
be illegal, although the Federal Elections Commission has said he could legally return the money.
Several of Green’s and Ryan’s Republican colleagues in the House have already donated or returned
campaign money they received from DeLay. And last week, fellow Republican and Green’s challenger in
the GOP primary for governor Scott Walker even said money from DeLay should be returned.
“With the biggest corruption scandal hitting Washington since Watergate, you would think both Mark
Green and Paul Ryan would want to distance themselves from these indicted Republican leaders,”
Wineke said. “Yet both Green and Ryan continue to refuse to do the right thing and get rid of this
questionable cash from Tom DeLay.”
DeLay has been indicted on money laundering charges in a campaign finance scheme in Texas and is a
close associate of indicted Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Abramoff pleaded guilty last week
to three felony charges including conspiracy to bribe public officials, and has agreed to cooperate in a
wide-ranging corruption probe that could involve up to 20 members of Congress and aides, including
DeLay.
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