Report: FEC says no foul in Pickering-Barbour-Vitter contribution circle

The Washington Examiner, not exactly a neutral publication, reports that the FEC has cleared Chip Pickering, Gov. Barbour, and Sen. David Vitter in an alleged campaign contribution shell game reported here in previous posts here, here, here, and here.  The Examiner says:

Federal authorities say there's no reason to believe Louisiana Sen. David Vitter's campaign violated the law by accepting a contribution from a political action committee of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Louisiana Democrats claimed the contribution from "Haley's PAC" was really from former Mississippi U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering and that it was illegally funneled through Barbour's PAC to avoid publicity.
But the Federal Elections Commission, in a ruling made public Monday, dismissed the complaint.

I haven't seen the FEC ruling yet, but I do note that this was originally made public back on July 16, 2010.  I'll say that this isn't a refutation of the original charge of playing a shell game with the contribution.  Instead, this reads as "neither contribution was over the limit, and there isn't sufficient proof of hijinks":

In its release, the FEC noted that both of the contributions in question were disclosed and that neither was "excessive or prohibited."

Public Citizen suggests that Barbour, Pickering, and Vitter PAC officials would lie under oath

Jackson Free Press investigative reporter has an article up this afternoon entitled "Dirty Laundry," in which he explores the Chip Pickering - Haley Barbour - David Vitter campaign contribution relay we've discussed here.  Lynch got in touch with Craig Holman of Public Citizen, who made a rather bold claim:

Getting answers would require the FEC to conduct a hard investigation that includes the subpoenaing of the treasurers of both PACs to completely prove the case.

"They have to, under oath, discover if there was any kind of direct or indirect agreement to funnel the money to Vitter," Holman said, adding that PAC treasurers are well capable of lying under oath.

Louisiana Democratic Party's Federal Elections Commission Complaint Against PACs for Vitter, Barbour, and Pickering

I got my hands on the Complaint filed by the Louisiana Democratic Party (LDP) mentioned earlier this morning. The respondents named in the complaint are CHIP PAC, Chip Pickering, Danna Lane (CHIP PAC Treasurer), Haley's PAC, Austin Barbour (Treasurer for Haley's PAC and Haley's nephew), David Vitter for U.S. Senate, and William Vanderbrook (Treasurer for David Vitter for U.S. Senate).  The complaint does not charge Haley Barbour or David Vitter, personally, with any wrongdoing.

The LDP alleges four violations of federal law:

1.  Making a Contribution in the Name of Another
2.  Permitting Your Name to be Used in a Conduit Scheme
3.  Accepting a Contribution in the Name of Another
4.  Individuals who Assisted in Making a Contribution in the Name of Another


They ask that the respondents be fined, and that the DOJ prosecute any willful violations.  Interesting....

Louisiana Democratic Party files FEC complaint against Haley Barbour, Chip Pickering, and David Vitter

Jonathan Allen at Politico just broke this:

The Louisiana Democratic Party plans to file a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission today, charging that Barbour’s PAC essentially filtered a $5,000 campaign donation from Pickering’s PAC to Louisiana Vitter’s 2010 re-election committee to make it look like the contribution didn’t come directly from Pickering.

You heard about the fundraiser, and the subsequent problematic campaign contributions here first.

Congressional Quarterly runs with the Pickering-Barbour-Vitter story

Good reporting work done here by Jonathan Allen.  Here's a quote that sums it up:

Pickering's otherwise dormant CHIP PAC made its first donation of the year to Haley's PAC on Aug. 15 -- four days after the governor gave to Vitter's 2010 re-election campaign -- according to a Sept. 20 filing with the Federal Election Commission. The two checks comprise all of the month's activities for Haley's PAC, which has just $13,281.37 in the bank and has made only one other contribution this year.

I really thought some folks would be smart enough to stay away from this...

Y'all may remember this post, in which I wrote about a rumored Jackson fundraiser for Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) thrown by former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS). Well, since the post, I've had the fundraiser confirmed by more than a few actual attendees.

Why was the fundraiser such a big deal?  Well, Pickering's obviously tainted goods right now thanks to the things he allegedly wrote in his own diary.  Sen. Vitter has had his own marital issues in the past.  Here's a history of his penchant for hookers. As a result, I'm sure Vitter didn't want to be publicly connected to Chip if at all possible.  Here's where it gets worse..