Remember the ad comparing Howard Dean to Osama bin Laden, backed by "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare," a
527?
Due to recent FEC filings, the money trail to the 527 is now apparent: "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare" was financed primarily from unions backing Dick Gephardt. However, approximately 8% of the $663,000 the 527 raised last year came from a New Jersey politician named Robert Torricelli.
Torricelli has a
history of, at best, questionable decisions in dealing with donors.
It appears that the quality of Torricelli's decision making hasn't changed much, as the money that Robert Torricelli donated to "Americans for Jobs & Healthcare," was from his campaign coffers. In other words, people donated money to him to help his campaign. He turned around and gave this money to a 527 whose purpose was to run anti-Dean ads.
Now, it's entirely possible that the people who donated to Torricelli were also interested in preventing Dean from being elected. In fact, it some respects, it seems likely.
Nonetheless, that is not what they agreed to when they donated the money, which is regulated by FEC rules. Rules that, according to the New York Times, do not include giving campaign contributions to 527s.
However, there doesn't appear to be a particularly strong reaction from the FEC:
Federal Election Commission spokesman Bob Biersack said it was "fuzzy" whether Torricelli's contribution was permissible under FEC rules.
I don't purport to have a special understanding of FEC rules. In fact, I am barely familiar with them. But given: A) that the FEC has a specific list of permissible uses for campaign funds, and B) that giving them to 527s is not on that list, it's difficult for me to wrap my mind around the inherent "fuzziness" referred to by Bob Biersack. All attempts to enlighten me are welcome.
[An aside: According to the Washington Post, Robert Torricelli is now a Kerry fundraiser.]