FEC & DOJ Complaints Filed Against “Straw Companies”
FEC & DOJ Complaints Filed Against “Straw Companies” that Funneled $12 million to FreedomWorks Super PAC
Today, Democracy 21 joined the Campaign Legal Center to ask the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate possible violations of campaign finance law by two companies that appear to have been created for the purpose of funneling $12 million to the Super PAC FreedomWorks for America, while hiding from the public the source of the funds. Specialty Group Inc. and Kingston Pike Development LLC were both created by William S. Rose of Knoxville, Tennessee in late September 2012 and over the six weeks leading up to Election Day funneled more than $12 million to FreedomWorks.
According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer:
The circumstances surrounding more than $12 million in contributions made to Freedom Works for America raise serious questions about whether this was an illegal scheme to launder money into the 2012 elections and hide from the public the true identity of the sources of the money.
Given the circumstances in this case, it is incumbent on the Justice Department to carry out its responsibility to investigate whether any criminal violations have occurred in the suspicious transactions that took place. If donors can launder huge, secret contributions through corporate shells into federal elections, campaign finance disclosure laws enacted to prevent corruption are fundamentally undermined.
