The Hill: Watchdog: Justice Department should investigate pro-Santorum super-PACs
By Rachel Leven
A campaign finance watchdog is calling on the Justice Department to look into possible campaign finance law violations by presidential candidate Rick Santorum and a pro-Santorum super-PAC.
Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday recommending an investigation into the Red, White and Blue Fund’s interactions with the campaign.
“It appears that presidential candidate-specific Super PACs are routinely violating the requirement of the campaign finance law for outside spending by a group to be ‘independent’ from the campaign of the candidate it is supporting,” Wertheimer wrote. “This requirement of ‘independence’ is the linchpin of the Citizens United decision that struck down the ban on corporate expenditures in federal campaigns.”
Major Santorum contributor Foster Friess has donated $1 million to the super-PAC and also “has been materially involved in discussions with the Super PAC about the campaign ads the Super PAC was running to support Santorum,” Wertheimer wrote. Friess required any of his money used on ads should “be dignified and … honest,” according to the letter.
Wertheimer pointed to Freiss as the “primary donor” to the fund, and as the link between the campaign and the super-PAC’s independent expenditures.
“In a situation where Friess is the primary donor to the Super PAC making expenditures for Santorum’s benefit, and where Friess himself has stated that he advises the Super PAC about the content and tone of its ads, the Super PAC is not operating independently of the Santorum campaign,” Wertheimer wrote.
Wertheimer sent another letter to the Justice Department last week requesting that Holder investigate two other candidate-specific PACs for coordination.
Priorities USA, a pro-Obama super-PAC that President Obama recently endorsed, and Restore Our Future, a pro-Mitt Romney super-PAC that the former Massachusetts governor has similarly endorsed, both offered up staffers this month for the super-PACs to use at fundraising events, The Hill previously reported.
“It is incumbent on the Justice Department to investigate these matters, rather than allow what appear to be illegally coordinated expenditures to run wild in the 2012 federal elections,” Wertheimer wrote. “The Federal Election Commission certainly cannot be counted on to carry out its responsibility to enforce the campaign finance laws.
“Someone in this country must be prepared to enforce the nation’s campaign finance laws enacted to prevent the corruption of our government.”
A Red, White and Blue Fund spokesman declined to comment because he had not seen the letter.
