Posted on 03/07/2024 6:57:19 AM PST by george76
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced Tuesday that she would not be seeking reelection, leaving over $10.5 million worth of unspent funds in her campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
FEC filings show that Sinema raised just under $3 million through her Senate committee in 2023, a relatively low number for an incumbent senator that fueled rumors she wouldn’t seek another term in Congress. Now that Sinema is officially out, there are only a handful of legal avenues the FEC outlines available for her to offload what remains in her campaign war chest, such as pouring money into other campaigns or donating it to charity.
Sinema can use her left-over Senate funds to “make charitable donations, transfer funds to a political party and make contributions to state or local candidates,” an FEC spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The spokesperson also said that she could donate funds to federal candidates.
The Arizona senator could also use her remaining Senate cash to finance a run for another office, according to the FEC. If Sinema were to run for president as an independent, for instance, she could transfer her remaining campaign funds to a new presidential committee.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders pulled a similar maneuver in 2020 during his presidential campaign, transferring $12.7 million from his author authorized campaign committees to his presidential committee.
“Federal officeholders can transfer campaign funds to run for another office as long as they are not running for more than one office simultaneously,” Bruce Oppenheimer, a professor emeritus of political science at Vanderbilt University, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If Sinema were to decide to run for president, she could transfer the money from her Senate campaign account.”
No Labels, a political organization seeking to get ballot access in all 50 states for a potential centrist unity ticket, could be an option for Sinema. Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and former Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, two of the primary candidates No Labels was reportedly courting, have both ruled out a run for the presidency.
If Sinema does not run for president, there are other ways she can use her remaining Senate campaign funds to influence elections.
...
If Sinema decided to become a lobbyist, she could use her campaign funds “to make campaign contributions within federal limits
... She could also use her remaining funds to help cover the costs of leaving office for a period of up to six months after her term is up, an FEC spokesperson told the DCNF. Campaign funds can cover moving fees, payments to committee staff and gifts “of nominal value” to people outside of Sinema’s family during this period.
Sinema can not use her remaining campaign funds for anything constituting “personal use,” according to the FEC. This would include all expenses that would exist in the absence of a campaign, such as non-campaign-related food, clothing or entertainment purchases.
Sinema was recently accused of using campaign funds for personal purposes.
The Arizona senator spent $3,028 on vehicles in London and Paris during the final quarter of 2023, which campaign experts said may have constituted personal use as there were no other affiliated costs signifying campaign activities abroad, according to the New York Post.
Sinema’s PAC doled out more than $10,000 to pay for her stays at luxury European hotels and $6,000 across several West Coast wineries, according to The Daily Beast. Sinema has also scheduled donor meetings in places where she was planning to run marathons and triathlons, allowing her to use campaign funds to cover travel and lodging.
As long as it is spent on political purposes, what she does will be perfectly legal.
I wonder how many “campaign headquarters” she purchased with the money?
She will donate it to political parties for kickbacks in cash from corporations.
Laundry…
She could convert it to cash, keep it in her house, and run for District Attorney in Fulton County, GA.
She could set up her own “Clinton” foundation.
“Sinema’s PAC doled out more than $10,000 to pay for her stays at luxury European hotels and $6,000 across several West Coast wineries,”
What about Nikki's war chest...Has she said??
Can she set up a non-profit charitable organization with the money, one that would hire her as CEO for oh, I don’t know, maybe a $2 million per year salary?
It sounds a bit like an S-Corp business - She can spend the money if it is “business related” and she keeps receipts and account for it.
Attending a Sinema-PAC conference in Boca Raton? Well the funds can pay for that. Need a new car for the Sinema-PAC? The funds can pay for that.
She needs to start her own 501C3 charity and the she can legally donate the money to herself. It’s what they always do with leftover funds. It way so many no chance in hell losers run. Plus they can even pay themselves and family members to help campaign. Ah grift at its finest.
The Sinema Fondation................
When she retires all that money goes in her pocket.
And you can bet the democrats have paid her off in some way to get her votes over to Gallegos, who was doomed to lose to Kari Lake in a three way race.
Im sure she will do a very low scale copy cat of what HRC did.
“She will donate it to political parties for kickbacks in cash from corporations.”
DING! DING! DING!
Or she can give it to a campaign and someone can then sell her a house for 50% of it probable fair market value. Or put her on a Board of Directors and pay her $500,000/year for the next 10 years even if she never goes to a meeting. And it will be legal.
The last part of your post is the real kicker. Assets can be disguised in so many ways; she’s bound to receive a handsome payoff for bowing out.
Time for the Sinema foundation l guess
She could convert it to cash and use it to pay for trips with her boy toy, or is that just “a black thing”?
Yes, that is quite possible. She can also hire all her relatives and pay them a salary. Of course, they may already be working for her campaign.
toy girl, she’s not into dudes
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