The Opposition Research Training Blog

Fugitive and Major Cuccinelli Donor Apprehended

U.S. Marshals arrested the fugitive known as Bobby Thompson Monday night in Portland Oregon. Thompson had been wanted on charges in Ohio where he was accused of masterminding a scheme to steal money collected by a scam charity known as the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Authorities believe Thompson and a female accomplice bilked unsuspecting donors out of more than a $100 million in 41 states.

In 2009 the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) barred Thompson’s phony association from soliciting for donations because it had failed to register as a charity and to make the required financial disclosures. Starting in 2009 Thompson made over $67,000 in donations to Virginia politicians with the bulk of it, $55,500, going to the campaign of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Making him Cuccinelli’s second-largest individual donor. He also gave $5,000 to the McDonnell campaign, and $7,000 was divided among the campaign committees of four key Virginia lawmakers.

Thompson engaged the services of Washington, DC based attorney Samuel F. Wright to help get legislation passed in Virginia that would exempt veterans organization from having to comply with financial disclosure regulations. Once passed, Thompson would be free to fleece the citizens of the Commonwealth with little or no oversight.

Thompson made a $1,000 donation to Senator Patricia Ticer(D) the then chair of a State Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with oversight of the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs. In 2010 Ticer sponsored SB 563 which added veterans organizations to the list of groups exempt from filing financial statements with the OCA. Reportedly Ticer tried to get the governor to veto her legislation after she learned the St. Petersburg Times had done an investigative piece exposing Thompson and his phony veterans association. She was to late. The bill became law in April 2010 only to be reversed in the 2011 session.

In May 2010 the Roanoke Times ran a story about Thompson’s political donations and lawmakers started dumping the donations with equivalent gifts to legitimate Virginia veterans associations. Cuccinelli didn’t want to let go of his sizable contribution. A spokesman for Cuccinelli’s campaign contacted by the Roanoke Times told reporters that if Thompson was convicted, and the money donated to the campaign had in fact come from misappropriated funds, they would donate those funds to reputable veterans organizations.

By mid June Cuccinelli’s campaign had placed Thompson’s contributions in a restricted account while they attempted to clarify matters. After months of pressure from Democrats the $55,000 became to hot for Cuccinelli to hold and in late July 2010 he relented and announced he would donate the Thompson money to a worthy organization.

 

FBI arrests prominent Democratic campaign treasurer

SACRAMENTO – A prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state legislators Lou Correa and Jose Solorio has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, The Orange County Register has learned.

via articles.ocregister.com

Kindee Durkee offered professional campaign treasurer services and could have had access to funds from hundreds of campaigns. She is due in court today where prosecutors may unveil additional charges.

Report: Gray Administration Violated Nepotism Laws

In a report released Tuesday, a special council committee headed by Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh concluded that the actions of three of Gray's closest aides badly damaged the city's image.

via washingtonexaminer.com

Washington Examiner reporter Freeman Klopott takes a look at the DC Council report on the Gray administration's early hiring practices. The committee found evidence supporting Sulaimon Brown's allegations he was paid by the Gray Campaign to stay in the race and bad mouth Mayor Fenty.

Wu Resigns Facing Possible Criminal Charges

Facing allegations he had some sort of inappropriate sexual contact with the teenaged daughter of a childhood friend and supporter, Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) initially resisted pressure from Democrats in Washington to resign. But that all ended this morning when Wu announced his resignation from Congress effective upon the resolution of the debt-ceiling crisis. Wu said he was resigning to protect his family and fight the "serious allegations."

While this effectively ends any Ethics Committee probe, Wu could still face serious criminal charges. Questions remain about the incident and victim. Various media reports describe the Thanksgiving 2010 incident as either “consensual sex” or an “unwanted sexual encounter.”

The term “unwanted sexual encounter” is nothing more than media softball code for sexual assault or rape. An excellent thesis by Charity Wilkinson titled Unwanted Sex Versus Rape: How the Language Used to Describe Sexual Assaults Impacts Perceptions of Perpetrator Guilt, Victim Blame and Reporting suggests that terms like “unwanted sexual encounter” can be used to downplay the severity of the incident. The age of the young woman at the time of the encounter is also key. Wu has stated the sex was consensual. If the young woman, who graduated from high school in 2010, was 17 at the time of the incident under Oregon law she would have been legally unable to consent to the sex.

FBI Investigating Rep. David Rivera

The Miami Herald is reporting that Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) is under investigation by the FBI and IRS. The paper reports authorities are investigating Rivera’s finances and looking at payments made by a Florida company with gambling interests to a company co-owned by Rivera’s mother.

Federal Judge Expands Citizens United Decision

On Tuesday Federal District Court Judge James Cacheris affirmed his recent ruling in U.S. v. Danielczyk et al  ending a century-old ban on direct corporate contributions to political candidates. Cacheris struck one of the charges against William Danielczyk, head of the Virginia-based Galen Capital Group, and Eugene Biagi, a fellow executive. The two men are charged with multiple counts of illegally reimbursing people for nearly $200,000 in contributions to Hillary Clinton’s 2006 U.S. Senate and 2008 presidential races.

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission  Cacheris wrote in his original decision:

“If human beings can make direct campaign contributions within FECA’s limits without risking quid pro quo corruption or its appearance, and if, in Citizens United’s interpretation of Bellotti, corporations and human beings are entitled to equal political speech rights, then corporations must also be able to contribute within FECA’s limits.”

In what looks like a feeble attempt to try and limit the damage the ruling has done, Cacheris attempts to foster the bizarre notion that his ruling applies only to the company involved in the case before him. He concluded:

“For these reasons, the Court will deny reconsideration
except to clarify its May 26, 2011 ruling to state that 2 U.S.C.
§ 441b (a)'s flat ban on direct corporate contributions to political campaigns is unconstitutional as applied to the circumstances of this case, as opposed to being unconstitutional as applied to all corporate donations.”

The government’s next step would be to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond.

Former Presidential Candidate Edwards Indicted

Former senator and presidential candidate John R. Edwards was indicted on Friday by a federal grand jury in Raleigh. As expected Edwards was indicted on one count of conspiracy, four counts of illegal campaign contributions, and one count of making a false statement to the Federal Election Commission.

You can read the indictment here.

Edwards Indictment Near

Sources close to the investigation of former Presidential candidate John Edwards say Attorney General Eric Holder has instructed prosecutors to move forward with an indictment. Edwards has been under investigation for using campaign money to cover up an affair with Rielle Hunter a campaign videographer who was pregnant at the time. The U.S. Attorney in Raleigh should bring an indictment within days.

Investigator Questions Official’s Residency

San Diego area private investigator Derrick Roach raised questions about the residency of one of San Diego's seven redistricting commission members after following the commissioner to an apartment in West Hollywood where he spent several nights in April and May. Roach, who has strong ties to the county Republican Party, makes a strong case in this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Ethics Committee Report on Ensign Released

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics released its long awaited report on the Special Counsel’s preliminary inquiry into a series of allegations surrounding the affair Ensign had with Cindy Hampton the wife of Ensign staffer Doug Hampton.

From the Report Summary:

“As will be developed below, it is Special Counsel s determination that substantial credible evidence exists that gives substantial cause to conclude that Senator Ensign engaged in violations of law and of Senate Rules within the Committee s jurisdiction under S. Res. 338, as amended, including improper conduct which reflects upon the Senate under Section 2(a)(1) of S. Res. 338.

Had Senator Ensign not resigned the Special Counsel would have recommended that the Committee initiate an adjudicatory review for the purpose of considering the appropriateness of disciplinary action against the Senator. The Special Counsel is confident that the evidence that would have been presented in an adjudicatory hearing would have been substantial and sufficient to warrant the consideration of the sanction of expulsion.”

The report says there is credible evidence that Ensign and his parents made false statements to the FEC concerning the $96,000 in hush money the parents paid to the Hampton family. The Special Counsel is clear that they had little desire to know the intimate details of the affair. What stands out in the report are the details of the timeline for the affair. It is clear that Ensign failed to break off the affair even after it was discovered and he was confronted on several occasions by Doug Hamilton, Senator Tom Coburn, and spiritual advisers from the C Street Center.

Be sure to download the report. It is a fascinating read.