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If there is one thing Nancy Pelosi should be an expert on, besides the hazards of excessive plastic surgery, it should be ethics.
For lest we forget, she was fined $21,000 by the Federal Election Commission, just a little over two years ago:
For Immediate Release
March 26, 2004AFFILIATED LEADERSHIP PACS FINED
WASHINGTON — The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has resolved a number of allegations concerning contributions made and received by two affiliated committees, PAC to the Future and Team Majority, leadership PACs that are associated with Representative Nancy Pelosi (D - CA). The FEC has entered into conciliation agreements with PAC to the Future and Team Majority, and three campaigns that were recipients of excessive contributions.
The conciliation agreements resulted in total civil penalties of $28,000. PAC to the Future and Team Majority will pay $21,000, Julie Thomas for Congress Campaign Committee (D - IA) and Van Hollen for Congress (D - MD) will each pay $2,500, and Joe Turnham for Congress (D - AL) will pay $2,000. The three campaigns have also agreed to disgorge $5,000 each to the U.S. Treasury.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) states that committees that are established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the same person or group of persons are "affiliated committees." Contributions made to or by such committees shall be considered to have been made to or by a single committee. Under the FECA, a multicandidate PAC is limited to receiving $5,000 per calendar year from individual contributors. Further, a candidate may only accept $5,000 per election from a multicandidate PAC. If a committee accepts contributions that exceed these limits, its treasurer must either refund the excessive contributions or seek redesignation to another election or reattribution to another donor within sixty days.
According to the conciliation agreement with PAC to the Future and Team Majority, the PACs failed to identify themselves as affiliated with each other when they registered with the FEC, and both PACs made contributions to several candidates for the 2002 General Election, which, when aggregated, exceeded their shared $5,000 contribution limit . The PACs also received contributions from individuals that exceeded their shared $5,000 contribution limit and did not refund the excessive portion of contributions within 60 days.
The investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by Kenneth F. Boehm, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center.
