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Does Sanders’ Accusation Against The DNC Hold Water? Campaign Finance Experts Weigh In
http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/04/19/sanders-accusation-dnc-hold-water-campaign-finance-experts-weigh/ThinkProgress said while they find Clinton’s activities unethical, they are likely not illegal.
It is permissible, but it’s offensive, and it should be illegal.
“This is the type of mega, mega joint fundraising committee that we all feared would come into existence if McCutcheon were ruled the wrong way, which it was,” said Craig Holman with Public Citizen. “It makes maximum use of the loose rules governing joint fundraising. They’re using big checks to set up a small donor fundraising campaign and turning over the small donors to the Hillary campaign while keeping the large ones for the party. It is permissible, but it’s offensive, and it should be illegal.”
Both Holman and Larry Noble with the Campaign Legal Center emphasized that it’s extremely unusual and possibly unprecedented for a party to raise so much money for a candidate before the general election.
“It shows the DNC has clearly taken sides before they even have a nominee,” said Holman. “There’s an obvious bias.”
Noble agreed. “They really are throwing their weight behind a particular candidate,” he said. “Their argument is usually that it helps the party generally, but the practical and legal reality is that it benefits Hillary Clinton. You just don’t expect this kind of thing to happen in the primaries.”
Sanders Blasts Cozy Clinton-DNC Scheme for Large-Dollar Donors
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/04/19/sanders-blasts-cozy-clinton-dnc-scheme-large-dollar-donors
White House hopeful Bernie Sanders is raising "extremely serious concerns" about how the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign are spending the millions they've raised through the loophole mechanism known as a "joint fundraising committee."
In a letter (pdf) sent Monday to Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sanders campaign attorney Brad Deutsch details "serious apparent violations" of campaign finance laws on the part of the national party apparatus, Clinton's campaign, and their joint fundraising committee (JFC): the Hillary Victory Fund.
Specifically, the letter accuses the Fund of using "extremely large-dollar individual contributions" to pay for direct mail and online advertising, "both of which appear to benefit only" the Clinton campaign.
"While the use of joint fundraising agreements has existed for some time," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager, "it is unprecedented for the DNC to allow a joint committee to be exploited to the benefit of one candidate in the midst of a contested nominating contest."
In a letter (pdf) sent Monday to Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sanders campaign attorney Brad Deutsch details "serious apparent violations" of campaign finance laws on the part of the national party apparatus, Clinton's campaign, and their joint fundraising committee (JFC): the Hillary Victory Fund.
Specifically, the letter accuses the Fund of using "extremely large-dollar individual contributions" to pay for direct mail and online advertising, "both of which appear to benefit only" the Clinton campaign.
"While the use of joint fundraising agreements has existed for some time," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager, "it is unprecedented for the DNC to allow a joint committee to be exploited to the benefit of one candidate in the midst of a contested nominating contest."
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