In a possible further blow to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s hopes for re-election, the RNC has revealed to the Federal Election Commission in amended filings that its debts are $4 million higher than had previously been reported.
ABC News reports:
In a letter to the FEC Wednesday, RNC official Boyd Rutherford said the unreported money woes “were discovered during a self-initiated internal review process, which was undertaken in connection with the arrival of a new Chief of Staff and Finance Director.”
The additional debt numbers only add to earlier reports that the RNC was not fully disclosing its unmet financial obligations. In July, ABC News and others reported that the RNC had failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the FEC in what some alleged was an attempt to make the party appear to be in better shape than it was.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Best Boss Ever? Michael Steele & The RNC Interns.]
Along with over $15 million in debt that was already known, this would bring the RNC’s publicly-revealed debts to over $19 million.
The party has also been hit by a share of fundraising gaffes. For example, in March 2010 it was revealed that party staffers had made an internal fundraising presentation that discussed how to appeal to “ego-driven” large donors and “reactionary” small donors. And in that same month, the RNC fired a staffer who received reimbursement from party funds for an event at a bondage-themed nightclub.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.