As I mentioned in my previous post, Texas Republican Representative Henry Bonilla became the Chairman of the American Dream PAC in 1999. The PAC has had an amazing and checkered history.
The PAC's website was taken down in 2002, shortly after their Executive Director/Treasurer Lydia Meuret was convicted of embezzling roughly $120,000. An LA Times article had this interesting quote:
"Had there been any checks or balances, it probably never would have happened," she said recently, as she prepared to begin serving a 15-month prison term. "I would just write myself checks."
Meuret was simultaneously the Treasurer for Republicans for Clean Air, a PAC that seemingly sprang out of thin air and ran ads in key states in 2000 against Senator John McCain. They depicted then-Texas Governor George W. Bush as friendly to the environment and McCain as a polluter, and were widely credited with swinging the Repubican presidential primary in Bush's favor.
The PAC was funded by Sam and Charles Wyly, brothers, Bush Pioneers and tax evasion suspects. It had no street address or phone number. The only officer listed was Meuret and the PO Box, which was also used for the American Dream PAC, was registered to Meuret.
When McCain's Deputy Campaign Manager filed an FEC complaint against Republicans for Clean Air alledging excessive contributions, failure to report a contribution, failure to register and report and exceeding the $25,000 annual contribution limit, Meuret sought to distance herself. The Washington Post reported...
"But Meuret said she knows next to nothing about Republicans for Clean Air, except the "consultant" who hired her and told her not to reveal his name. She added that a news release would soon be distributed ending the mystery of who aired the ads. Yet there was no announcement."
The unnamed consultant was Jeb Hensarling, Meuret's predecessor as Treasurer for the American Dream PAC. Hensarling has since become the U.S. Representative for Texas District 5 and was elected just yesterday as the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee.
Since its founding, the American Dream PAC's stated mission has been...
"Hard work. Strong families. Free markets. Individual liberties. The ideals of the American Dream form the foundation of our Republican Party. Today, the American Dream PAC is leading the charge to help minority GOP candidates across our nation implement these precious values."
However, as the Washington Post reported in 2003, that mission was all but abandoned towards the end of 2000. That was when the last slate of minority candidates, featured on the PAC's website, received their contributions.
Then, in 2002, Meuret filed a Texas Ethics Commission report claiming that the PAC had contributed to the campaigns of 3 more minority candidates. But did they? Those contributions didn't show up in the PAC's FEC filings.
Despite the scandals and the current lack of a street address, phone number, known board members or a website, the American Dream PAC continues to bring in more money every year. This year, their receipts (so far) have totalled $ 113,405, most of which has been spent. The largest PAC contributor has been the United Parcel Service PAC with $ 15,000, bringing their all-time contributions total to $ 35,000. UPS also gave $54,000 to Texans For Henry Bonilla.
Why would UPS drop $89,000, plus great photo ops on a single politician? I'll leave that to someone else to figure out.