Priorities USA

Watchdogs Target New Democratic Super PACs

Susan Crabtree | April 29, 2011, 4:33PM

President Barack Obama

That didn't take long.

Just hours after the launch Friday of two new Democratic Super Pacs designed to keep President Obama in the White House and counter deep-pocketed GOP groups who helped Republicans win control of the House in 2010, a prominent watchdog group announced plans to file a complaint against them with the IRS.

The two new groups, Priorities USA and Priorities USA Action, were formed by former Obama White House aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney to take advantage of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling last year and will collect unlimited funds -- with the goal of $100 million -- from corporations and unions. Only one of the two groups will disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission.

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Mitt Romney

New Hampshire Dems To File FEC Complaint Against Mitt Romney

Benjy Sarlin | April 29, 2011, 5:00AM

The New Hampshire Democratic Party plans to file a complaint on Friday against Mitt Romney's Political Action Committees, asking the FEC to investigate whether they violate campaign finance laws.

Romney raised eyebrows last year with an extensive PAC operation that some ethics watchdogs said exploited loopholes to skirt campaign finance laws. By setting up PACs in multiple states, Romney's top donors were able to contribute many times the maximum amount allowed to a single campaign -- $1.5 million from only 38 individuals in 2009 and 2010, according to the Boston Globe. In addition, the PACs were used to finance consultants and staff who now form the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign.

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Rick Santorum

Santorum Outraised Huckabee, Pawlenty At The End Of Last Year

Jillian Rayfield | February 2, 2011, 10:38AM

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

The most recent FEC filings from the potential 2012 presidential field show Rick Santorum finishing strong at the end of last year, outraising all the other potential candidates except Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.

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David Vitter

Vitter Camp Receives Donation From Deceased Woman

Brian Beutler | September 1, 2010, 12:15PM

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

David Vitter recently received a campaign donations from a woman who passed away in December, 2009, FEC documents reveal.

According to a notice of contributions Vitter filed on August 17, he received an August 16 donation of $1000 from Anna Gumpertz of Toluca Lake, CA -- a regular contributor to Republican candidates and causes. The only problem is, Gumpertz died of a heart attack last year.

Vitter's campaign was not immediately available for comment.

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OH-SEN

Ohio Secretary Of State Bungles FEC Forms For Her Senate Campaign

Rachel Slajda | April 23, 2010, 11:44AM

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who's running for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race there, appears to have failed to correctly report her staffers' salaries, the Plain Dealer reported this week.

Instead of itemizing their salaries, Brunner lumped them altogether in a single payment to a payroll company. The payment in the first quarter of 2010 was $37,000.

But according to Federal Election Commission rules, any payment above $200 must be itemized.

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