Posted on 10/23/2008 1:09:40 PM PDT by pissant
A political watchdog group on Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about the Republican National Committee (RNC) spending nearly $150,000 on a wardrobe for vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) charged that the shopping excursions on behalf of Palin and her family violate a federal prohibition against candidates for federal office converting campaign funds to personal use.
“It is ridiculous that the RNC would spend $150,000 to outfit a vice presidential nominee and her family at any time, but it is more outrageous given the dire financial straights of so many Americans and the state of our economy,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement accompanying the complaint.
The RNC has said the clothing will be donated to charity. Whether doing so would avoid violating federal campaign laws is unclear.
A news organization, Politico, disclosed this week that the RNC purchased designer clothing and accessories for Palin and her family, including $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $75,062 at Neiman Marcus.
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
Creditable explanation [Mark Steyn]
A reader anticipates Senator Obama's statement on fraudulent donations:
This isn’t the credit card machine I knew when I was in the New Party. Anyway, I was only 4 years old when credit card machines were invented.
Meanwhile, don't forget, it's easy and convenient to donate to the Obama campaign with your Visacorn, MessiahCard, God Damn American Express and, for all you investigative reporters out there, your Nothing To Discover card.
Does that say $20 service fee? OMG And the Tax is terrible too
How about the unknown origin of millions coming into the O’s coffers? Where’s that complaint?!?
The idiot brigade is unaware of the IRS allowance for deductions of clothing necessary to perform one’s job. Her wardrobe is specifically allowed as a legitimate expense of her campaign, according to the IRS.
Notwithstanding the legitimacy of the expenditures I have not noticed these same belligerants condemning ANY of the hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable contributions to the O campaign.
This is not a double standard. This is a vendetta.
Banks used to give clothing allowances all the time. Nice attire was expected.
I suppose this group imagines Governor Palin is going to go out hunting moose in a designer suit.
The truth is that they just don’t like how good she looks. They can’t measure up.
Melanie Sloan (born 16 December 1965) is the Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Prior to starting CREW in 2003, Ms. Sloan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia where, from 1998-2003, she successfully tried cases before dozens of judges and juries. Before becoming a prosecutor, Ms. Sloan served as Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, working on criminal justice issues for then-Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI). Ms. Sloan also served as Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by then-Representative Charles Schumer (D-NY). There, she drafted portions of the 1994 Crime Bill, including the Violence Against Women Act. In 1993, Ms. Sloan served as Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under then-Chairman Joseph Biden (D-DE).[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Sloan
Time to file a claim over the wasted expense of the $200,000 columns that were supposed to make obama look princely or something.
$200,000 is the cost (of the stage setting & columns), was mentioned in an article that was describing the surroundings being prepared for his second coming on election night in the park in Chicago.
Has he donated the columns to charity? I bet if Michelle could get her hands on them, she would sock them away in the basement and take them out for special occasions in their little bungalow.
Will be reading about that tomorrow?
That receipt has been debunked again and again. Please stop posting it.
Ms. Sloan served as Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, working on criminal justice issues for then-Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI). Ms. Sloan also served as Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by then-Representative Charles Schumer (D-NY).
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/complain.shtml
The Federal Election Commission frequently receives questions about how to file a complaint concerning possible violations of federal election campaign laws.1 This brochure explains how to file a complaint with the Commission and describes how complaints are processed.2
I. Filing a Complaint
Any person may file a complaint if he or she believes a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Laws or Commission regulations has occurred or is about to occur. The complaint must be made in writing and sent to the Office of General Counsel, Federal Election Commission, 999 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20463. The original must be submitted along with three copies, if possible. Facsimile or e-mail transmissions are not acceptable. A complaint must comply with certain requirements. It must:
* Provide the full name and address of the person filing the complaint (called the complainant); and
* Be signed, sworn to and notarized. This means that the notary public’s certificate must say “...signed and sworn to before me...,” or words that connote the complaint was affirmed by the complainant, (such as “under penalty of perjury”).
Furthermore, in order for a complaint to be considered complete and proper, it should:
* Clearly recite the facts that show specific violations under the Commission’s jurisdiction (citations to the law and regulations are not necessary);
* Clearly identify each person, committee or group that is alleged to have committed a violation (called the respondent);
* Include any documentation supporting the allegations, if available; and
* Differentiate between statements based on the complainant’s (the person who files the complaint) personal knowledge and those based on information and belief. Statements not based on personal knowledge should identify the source of the information.
For self-reported complaints (called “sua sponte” submissions), the submission should include an admission of the violation(s), a complete recitation of the facts along with all relevant documentation that explains how the violation was discovered, the internal actions that were taken in response to the violation and what other agencies, if any, are investigating the violation (or facts surrounding the violation).
The Commission seeks to increase the number of self-reported submissions in order to expedite enforcement of the law. To encourage self-reporting, the Commission will generally negotiate penalties between 25 and 75 percent lower than those for matters arising by other means, such as through complaints or the Commission’s own review of reports. In certain circumstances, the Commission may allow committees who voluntarily report their violations and make a complete report of their internal investigation to proceed directly into conciliation before the Commission makes a finding as to whether there is reason to believe the committee violated campaign finance laws or Commission regulations.3
where was it debunked
Ms. Sloan served as Nominations Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, under then-Chairman Joseph Biden (D-DE).[1]
If this was a Pubbie, the media would say she has a conflict of interest
The sickness is that they can make people respond viscerally to this until you realize that you are blind, that they never told you that is de rigueur for campaigns and the media refuses to cover the other side. It was the same when Gov Palin made a huge splash at the RNC and the media said - she is reading a speech look, and then showed a picture of her teleprompter as if they were suddenly revealing a giant idiot. Just like the Dems do but no picture of that.
Give us Rezko - there’s someone who helped the Obama’s with their spending.
Go after him.
Not.
October 21, 2008 --THE source who told us last week about Michelle Obama getting lobster and caviar delivered to her room at the Waldorf-Astoria must have been under the influence of a mind-altering drug. She was not even staying at the Waldorf. We regret the mistake, and our former source is going to regret it, too. Bread and water would be too good for such disinformation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.