The Maverick thumbed his nose at the FEC when his latest campaign finance report showed that he blew past the public financing spending limit. He had agreed to take public financing when his campaign was in the crapper and he needed the matching funds. Once his political fortunes turned around, he decided that he wanted to withdraw from the system, and take private money. There’s also the possibility that he used public money to obtain a loan. The AP shows why he’s in trouble (or at least he should be):
McCain has now spent $58.4 million in his primary bid, surpassing the $50 million limit he would have faced if he participated in the public financing system he had been certified to join. McCain has decided not to accept the public matching funds, but the FEC wants him to assure regulators that he did not use the promise of public money as collateral for a $4 million loan.The DNC cried foul and submitted its own complaint. Even with the weak FEC, the regulating body warned McCain that he cannot arbitrarily remove himself from the system, the FEC must approve his withdrawal. In fact, the FEC even sent the campaign a harsh letter not letting him off the hook.McCain and his lawyers said the loan was secured with other collateral, thus freeing him to spend as much money as he wishes on his primary campaign. The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC arguing McCain cannot withdraw from the public finance system without FEC approval.
This isn’t some hard-to-grasp story — it’s serious. The WaPo reports that McCain can go to the pokey for this kind of political Bronx cheer:
Knowingly violating the spending limit is a criminal offense that could put McCain at risk of stiff fines and up to five years in prison.Christy at FDL:
We decided that McCain shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this without questions — lots and lots of questions — being asked. The hypocrisy of the so-called “maverick” violating a law which he championed because it suits his purposes this time around is horrifying. Even worse is the relative silence of the press on this, given the rank hypocrisy of violations of McCain’s “signature” issue and all. Does it get to be your signature issue if you are blatantly violating it in an in-your-face maneuver after being warned not to by the head of the FEC? I think not.A group of progressive bloggers and activists, including your blogmistress, signed a letter of complaint that Firedoglake’s Jane Hamsher delivered to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) yesterday regarding John McCain’s flagrant disregard for campaign finance law.If the press isn’t going to ask the necessary questions, then we have to do it ourselves
13 Responses to “McCain’s not straight-talking about his criminal nose-thumbing at the FEC”
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“The WaPo reports that McCain can go to the pokey for this kind of political Bronx cheer…”
…just like Irving Lewis “Scooter” Libby could go to prison for his part in outing an active CIA NOC agent…
…or not…
I’ve learned never to expect anything that could even vaguely be called justice if there are any Bush’s, Cheney’s or Rethugs around. And don’t forget, McCain should already have been sent to prison for his actions as one fo the Keating Five.
Didn’t happen then, and I’m pretty confident it won’t happen now…not that it shouldn’t…
He didn’t take the public funds, but he might have used them for loan collateral?
I detest McCain and hope he bombs, but I have to say, as ethical breaches go, this seems awfully chickenshit.
MikeEss, here’s the scenario in a nutshell (hope this works):
http://www.needlenose.com/node/view/4607
Even with the weak FEC, the regulating body warned McCain that he cannot arbitrarily remove himself from the system, the FEC must approve his withdrawal.
It still doesn’t seem like McCain is exactly in a fair situation here: McCain is required to get approval even though the FEC is disabled, but since the FEC is disabled he can’t get approval. This is a Kafkaesque punishment for accepting public financing, even if (as the FEC may eventually rule McCain did with the loan thing) McCain entered into the public financing system in bad faith. The possibility of winding up in such a Kafkaesque situation may dissuade people from utilizing public financing systems in future, which from a progressive perspective is a very bad thing.
On the other hand, it’s interesting in that it’s a little hard to feel sympathy for McCain given he is, you know, a U.S. Senator, and the presumptive nominee of the party of the sitting President, who has endorsed him. In other words McCain is one of the very few people in the entire world who is currently in a position to fix the disabled FEC problem! McCain is legitimately in a position where he could personally negotiate an end to the gridlock preventing Congress and the President from bringing the FEC back online. As far as I know, he’s not made an effort to do so; instead he just plunged ahead with his financing plan despite the warnings.
So we have someone who doesn’t like the law, but although they’re actually in a position to get the state of the law changed, they decide not to change it and instead just go ahead and break it. Sound familiar in recent politics?
For the love of ye gods, Obamabots and Hillbots and Gravelmaniacs alike… petard hoisting ought to be the national sport.
This is a magical golden diamond of happenstance to smack the man. Chisel the track and hammer down, hammer down, hammer down for freedom.
By the by, do you know why the FEC can’t rule? Because Bush insists that Hans von Sparofsky (sic) be appointed to the board, and has refused any replacements. So until he gives up on Hans, the board can’t get a quorum. And do you know who’s working to block Hans? Obama!
The deliciousness goes to 11!
The problem with this is that McCain still *can’t* raise any more money, legally, until he’s free from the matching funds limit. And he’s only trying to past that limit based on money he’s borrowed– with the matching funds as collateral.
His fundraising *depends* on breaking the law.
Just like his Presidency would do.
He didn’t take the public funds, but he might have used them for loan collateral?
Except that it’s illegal for him to use the public funds as collateral for other loans. It’s like arguing that it’s weak that someone gets charged with armed robbery just because s/he has a knife instead of a gun.
The law pretty clearly says that using anticipated payments of matching funds as collateral for a loan constitutes acceptance of the matching funds and locks you into the public system. McCain’s claim is that he only promised to use the funds as collateral if he didn’t have the money to pay the loans back otherwise, which is bullshit because collateral is pretty much defined at what the bank gets to seize if you don’t have the money to pay the loan back otherwise.
And even more clearly, if Maverick McCain, the presumptive GOP candidate for president, really truly wanted his republican colleagues in the senate to stop blocking the FEC from having a quorum, he’d be twisting arms in public and private to have separate votes for the four nominees. The fact that he hasn’t said word one about that issue makes it clear he’s perfectly happy with matters as they stand.
Bitter Scribe:
The rules are pretty clear. He applied for the funds, and was told he was eligible. He *used* those funds. That he didn’t spend them isn’t relevant; he still gained value from them, as a loan guarantee. At that point, it seems pretty clear that he was committed to accepting them, and the restrictions that come with them.
I’m against all of these restrictions, but …
No sympathy for McCain, these are HIS restrictions.
This is the crap he sposored and passed and thought was a great idea. Let him SUFFER.
As J. Geils would say
Serve you right to suffer, babe, serve you right.
It still doesn’t seem like McCain is exactly in a fair situation here: McCain is required to get approval even though the FEC is disabled, but since the FEC is disabled he can’t get approval.
Except that he has no nonvexatious argument for asking the FEC to conclude he did not violate the law. You don’t get an exception from the requirements of the law simply by asking nicely.
Longhairedweirdo: OK, I hear you, but it just seems like there are so many better things to hang McCain over, like the Keating thing and how we might be in Iraq for 100 years. I don’t know how much beer this FEC stuff will spill with Mr. and Ms. Swing Voter.