http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10431-2001Jan31.html
Possible Ashcroft Campaign Violation
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 1, 2001; Page A04
A political action committee established by Attorney General-designate John
D. Ashcroft gave its fundraising list to Ashcroft's 2000 Senate campaign, a
possible violation of campaign finance law by both the PAC and the campaign,
according to documents and election officials.
The "in-kind" contribution to Ashcroft's campaign was a list of 100,000
donors that the PAC "Spirit of America" turned over to Ashcroft's 2000 Senate
campaign committee. The campaign committee, in turn, made more than $116,000
by renting out the list to other fundraisers.
Under federal law, PACs may give candidates only $10,000 per campaign.
Neither the PAC nor the Ashcroft campaign reported the transfer of the list,
which occurred after the campaign had already donated $10,000.
Kelly Huff, a spokeswoman for the Federal Election Commission, said that
"anything given that is considered something of value would be an in-kind
contribution." The law requires that in-kind contributions be reported in the
same manner as cash contributions.
Huff said a review of the agency's files revealed no advisory opinions on
cases with similar circumstances.
Lawrence Noble, former FEC general counsel and director of the Center for
Responsible Policy, said yesterday that use of the list by the campaign
"clearly raises a question as to the value of the list and whether it is a
contribution to the committee."
Ashcroft spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said that "all activities involved in
handling the list were in accordance with FEC guidelines." She declined to
answer other questions.
In 1999, the PAC itself had rented out the list to more than 30 list-sellers
and other groups, including the Paula Jones Legal Defense Fund and the Linda
Tripp Legal Defense Fund, raising a total of $83,751, according to FEC
records. The $1,922 rental payment from the Tripp fund came on Feb. 9, 1999,
three days before Ashcroft voted to convict President Bill Clinton on two
impeachment counts.
Ashcroft, asked about that arrangement in writing by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy
(D-Vt.) as part of the confirmation process, responded: "These donor lists
were rented without my knowledge or approval. Once I became aware that the
list had been rented to these organizations, I directed that the lists no
longer be rented to these organizations."
No written questions were asked, however, about the PAC transferring the list
to Ashcroft's Senate campaign or the campaign's rental of it to other users.
Spirit of America, which is still a functioning PAC, was formed by Ashcroft
in 1996 to raise money for conservative candidates at a time when the
Missouri Republican also wanted to explore his own prospects for a
presidential run. The list was developed between 1997 and 1999, at a cost of
more than $2 million. During that period, the PAC contributed $10,000 to
Ashcroft 2000, along with about $100,000 to other conservative candidates.
In 2000, according to FEC reports, the Ashcroft campaign committee received
payments throughout the year -- totaling $116,922 -- from Precision Marketing
Inc. for "rental" of the list. An official with Precision Marketing refused
to discuss the list or to whom it was rented.
PACs of national political candidates often sell their donor lists to "list
vendors" when the PACs fold. However, the Clinton-Gore committees of 1992 and
1996, for example, have remained in business, and each still rents its list,
using the income to pay outstanding bills, according to a Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee staff member.
