Posted on 09/25/2004 10:02:38 PM PDT by crushelits
To: National Desk, Political Reporter
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding activity by the recently formed 527 organization, The November Fund.
CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan stated "the November Fund and its corporate backers have made no secret that they are planning to spend $10 million to attack and oppose the candidacy of John Edwards and the democratic presidential ticket. Today, CREW is calling on the FEC to immediately investigate The November Fund and stop it from attempting to influence the presidential campaign."
CREW's complaint alleges that because a major purpose of The November Fund is to influence the upcoming presidential election, it is a "political committee" under FEC law and must comply with the same contribution limits and reporting requirements followed by other political committees.
The complaint also alleges that the Chamber of Commerce made an illegal corporate contribution of $500,000 to The November Fund, that the Fund is illegally coordinating its activities with the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign committee, and that it is planning to engage in "electioneering communications," meaning that within 60 days of the election, the Fund plans to run print and television ads specifically naming Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards.
This past August, Ken Rietz, the director of The November Fund, told the Associated Press that the Fund plans to feature Sen. Edwards in the Funds' ads. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue told Lou Dobbs that the Chamber started The November Fund because they didn't want to see John Edwards involved in the appointments of regulators, appellate judges and Supreme Court justices.
The complaint names Bush-Cheney '04 because of the strong Republican party ties of The November Funds' backers. Co-chair Craig Fuller has been working with the Bush Administration to prevent the importation of prescription drugs from Canada; co- chair William Brock is a former Republican Senator and Chair of the National Republican Committee and was appointed by President Bush to the West Coast Port Worker Lockout Panel; and Fund director Ken Rietz served as an advisor to President Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.
Sloan stated, "The people behind The November Fund are all closely tied to the Bush Administration and they have publicly stated that the Fund will try to stop John Edwards from being elected Vice President. This is illegal and unethical and it is up to the FEC to stop it."
Contact: Lisa Cohen of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 310-395-2544
A copy of the complaint can be found on the Web at http://www.citizensforethics.org
WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 - The United States Chamber of Commerce and other business groups plan to spend roughly $10 million attacking trial lawyers, including Senator John Edwards, by financing a new organization that will run television and mail advertisements in critical swing states.
That organization, the November Fund, was created this month in an effort to paint Mr. Edwards as among lawyers who, through a proliferation of lawsuits, have increased the cost of health care and insurance, damaging the business climate nationwide and as a result harming many communities.
Officials involved in the new group declined to comment publicly. But its co-chairmen are Craig L. Fuller, who was an aide to President Ronald Reagan and chief of staff to his vice president, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Brock, former senator, labor secretary and Republican national chairman.
Before entering the Senate in 1999, Mr. Edwards made millions in North Carolina as a plaintiff's lawyer, and the legal community provided more than a quarter of the money for his own presidential campaign. He has long succeeded in deflecting criticism of his career, arguing that he represented ordinary people who had been mistreated by big companies and insurance interests.
There are closer links between CBS News and the Kerry campaign than between the Bush administration and the Novemeber Fund.
BWAHAHAHAHHHAHAHA poor wittle babies are just having a hard time losing ain't they
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