Unfortunately for Michael Steele, his recent alleged past of campaign finance impropriety is going to come back to haunt him. At this point, it doesn't matter whether he is guilty, directly involved or not with respect to the current investigation. The fact that he will now have at least twice been implicated in matters concerning RNC-related financial impropriety will most assuredly devour him.
As such, Michael Steele may very well end up being the fall guy - guilty or not for the actual expenses - for the RNC. They may actually use this controversy against him to do what they have been wanting to do all along: finally get rid of him.
Then:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Now:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...
You will recall that in February 2009, Michael Steele's campaign spending was called into question by federal agents regarding money that he had allegedly funneled to his sister's business for services that had never been provided.
From the Washington Post on February 7, 2009:
Michael S. Steele, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, arranged for his 2006 Senate campaign to pay a defunct company run by his sister for services that were never performed, his finance chairman from that campaign has told federal prosecutors.
Federal agents in recent days contacted Steele's sister, a spokesman for Steele said yesterday.
The claim about the payment, one of several allegations by Alan B. Fabian, is outlined in a confidential court document. Fabian offered the information last March as he was seeking leniency for himself during plea negotiations on unrelated fraud charges. It is unclear how extensively his claims have been pursued. Prosecutors gave him no credit for cooperation when he was sentenced in October.
. . .
Fabian's claims emerge as Steele begins his new role at the RNC, where he oversees the raising and spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in party money. The former Maryland lieutenant governor has faced questions about his handling of campaign money in prior elections and was twice fined for missing filing deadlines.
The recent allegations outlined four specific transactions. In addition to the payment to Steele's sister, Fabian said that the candidate used money from his state campaign improperly; that Steele paid $75,000 from the state campaign to a law firm for work that was never performed; and that he or an aide transferred more than $500,000 in campaign cash from one bank to another without authorization.
. . .
According to the filing, Wyda gave prosecutors "documents supporting [the] allegations." Wyda wrote in the memorandum that the government declined to credit Fabian for cooperating "presumably because its investigation is ongoing."
The Post corroborated some details of Fabian's claims through public records and interviews with former staff workers. Other details were disputed by people involved in the transactions.
In one of his allegations, Fabian points to a February 2007 payment by Steele's Senate campaign of more than $37,000 to Brown Sugar Unlimited, the company run by Steele's sister, Monica Turner. Campaign finance records list the expense as having been for "catering/web services." Turner filed papers to dissolve the company 11 months before the payment was received.
Turner, a doctor and the former wife of Mike Tyson, declined yesterday to describe any services she provided to the campaign. "Ah, it's the 'sabotage Michael Steele' story," she told a reporter before closing the door of her home in Potomac. "No, I'm not with that program. . . . I'm not going to do this."
Anderson, Steele's spokesman, said Turner "did a lot of media stuff" for the campaign. He later provided a copy of an invoice for nearly $15,000 for catering services for one event in October 2006 and for another in July 2007. The invoice was dated December 2006, a discrepancy Anderson said was a typographical error.
. . .
In a separate allegation, Fabian described the bank withdrawal. After the 2006 election, an aide transferred the funds that had been raised for Steele's lieutenant governor campaign -- more than $600,000 -- out of what had been the campaign's bank account.
. . .
Campaign finance reports show that printers billed the Senate campaign late in 2006. The state campaign paid the bills early the next year -- nearly $30,000 to GOP Shoppe and almost $8,000 to Form Masters. The Senate campaign reported several months later that it had been billed in error.
Anderson said any payments from the state campaign were for services related to his state office. Brian Harlin, owner of GOP Shoppe, said it is common for candidates to move invoices from one campaign committee to another after discovering billing errors.
It is a violation of federal campaign finance regulations for a candidate to use funds raised for a state campaign to pay for expenses associated with a federal campaign.
Fabian also alleged that Steele paid the law firm Baker & Hostetler $75,000 for services that were not provided. The expenditure is listed in campaign finance records as an in-kind contribution to the state Republican Party.
Baker & Hostetler attorney Michael Braden, a former chief counsel for the RNC, said the payment was for services he and other attorneys at the firm provided in challenging legislative redistricting in Maryland in 2002.
. . .