Outgoing Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has illegally spent campaign funds and now cannot afford to repay supporters, according to a report. His campaign used donations marked for a general election race in a last-ditch attempt to help him prevail from his heated primary race
Under federal law, candidates are permitted to raise money for primary and general election races simultaneously, but the funding must be used for the race for which it is designated — otherwise, it must be paid back. Now that Cawthorn has lost his primary, he is required by law to refund those donations, but his campaign has already depleted much of those funds, making it difficult for him to pay it all back.
Documents from early May indicate that he had roughly $137,000 on hand and owed $325,000 in debt at the time, per the outlet. Specifics on his current financial predicament are not clear.
meanwhile, in the same area: "
Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s 2020 campaign opponent has agreed to enter a plea on a federal charge after investigators accused her of taking campaign contributions from a donor in someone else’s name. Lynda Bennett, of Haywood County, is accused of knowingly taking more than $25,000 from a relative, far exceeding a $2,800-per-election limit set by federal law, and doing so in another person’s name, according to federal court documents filed Friday.
and...A campaign watchdog group has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, accusing the group of breaking federal law by using money that is supposed to be earmarked for legal expenses on campaign ads instead.
The complaint was filed this week by the Campaign Legal Center after the unusual use of walled-off legal funds by the National Republican Senatorial Committee was first reported by The New York Times this month. End Citizens United, a group that advocates changes to campaign finance law, joined the complaint.
and..."
In a statement on Monday, the CLC alleged that Santos and his 2022 campaign committee, Devolder-Santos for Congress, “violated federal campaign finance laws by engaging in a straw donor scheme to knowingly and willfully conceal the true sources of $705,000 that Santos purported to loan to his campaign”.
The group also said Santos “deliberately report[ed] false disbursement figures on FEC disclosure reports, among many other reporting violations; and illegally us[ed] campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including rent on a house that Santos lived in during the campaign”."
and..."“When federal candidates evade campaign finance laws designed to maintain transparency and combat corruption, they undermine our election system and damage voter trust,” said Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “Former President Trump made it clear months ago, through his statements and actions, that he was running for president again in 2024 — long before his leadership PAC, Save America, gave $20 million to a super PAC that then spent over $11 million on the 2022 midterms. By injecting this ‘soft money’ into a federal election, Trump violated the law, and the FEC must act.” "
Under federal law, candidates are permitted to raise money for primary and general election races simultaneously, but the funding must be used for the race for which it is designated — otherwise, it must be paid back. Now that Cawthorn has lost his primary, he is required by law to refund those donations, but his campaign has already depleted much of those funds, making it difficult for him to pay it all back.
Documents from early May indicate that he had roughly $137,000 on hand and owed $325,000 in debt at the time, per the outlet. Specifics on his current financial predicament are not clear.
meanwhile, in the same area: "
Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s 2020 campaign opponent has agreed to enter a plea on a federal charge after investigators accused her of taking campaign contributions from a donor in someone else’s name. Lynda Bennett, of Haywood County, is accused of knowingly taking more than $25,000 from a relative, far exceeding a $2,800-per-election limit set by federal law, and doing so in another person’s name, according to federal court documents filed Friday.
and...A campaign watchdog group has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, accusing the group of breaking federal law by using money that is supposed to be earmarked for legal expenses on campaign ads instead.
The complaint was filed this week by the Campaign Legal Center after the unusual use of walled-off legal funds by the National Republican Senatorial Committee was first reported by The New York Times this month. End Citizens United, a group that advocates changes to campaign finance law, joined the complaint.
and..."
In a statement on Monday, the CLC alleged that Santos and his 2022 campaign committee, Devolder-Santos for Congress, “violated federal campaign finance laws by engaging in a straw donor scheme to knowingly and willfully conceal the true sources of $705,000 that Santos purported to loan to his campaign”.
The group also said Santos “deliberately report[ed] false disbursement figures on FEC disclosure reports, among many other reporting violations; and illegally us[ed] campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including rent on a house that Santos lived in during the campaign”."
and..."“When federal candidates evade campaign finance laws designed to maintain transparency and combat corruption, they undermine our election system and damage voter trust,” said Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “Former President Trump made it clear months ago, through his statements and actions, that he was running for president again in 2024 — long before his leadership PAC, Save America, gave $20 million to a super PAC that then spent over $11 million on the 2022 midterms. By injecting this ‘soft money’ into a federal election, Trump violated the law, and the FEC must act.” "
