-Caveat Lector- http://www.nypost.com/commentary/26349.htm 'NONPARTISAN' JESSE TRIPS BOOSTED GORE: COMPLAINT By ROD DREHER NEW YORK POST Tuesday, March 13,2001 A WASHINGTON activist group will file a complaint today with the Federal Election Commission, charging numerous violations of campaign-finance laws by Jesse Jackson's organizations last fall, The Post has learned. The American Conservative Union says that much of Jackson's travel then was to campaign for Al Gore and other Democratic candidates - and it was "illegal" for the nonprofit groups to pay for it. The Jackson organizations maintain the reverend's political travel was confined to get-out-the-vote drives, which would be legal. In an internal financial report released last week, Rainbow/PUSH Chief Financial Officer Billy Owens said that the organizations spent just over $1 million to send Jackson around the country during 1999 and 2000. Owens claimed that the Democratic Party reimbursed several of the Jackson organizations for $450,000 in travel expenses. The ACU complaint calls this reimbursement "prima facie evidence that the voter-mobilization activities were partisan in nature." Furthermore, the ACU cites numerous published reports showing that Jackson's public appearances during the campaign were not for nonpartisan voter-mobilization purposes. "This travel Jesse Jackson was doing for the Democratic Party was actually for the Gore campaign," says ACU counsel Cleta Mitchell. It is "illegal" for a third party - in this case, Jackson's organizations - to pay campaign expenses for a presidential candidate who receives federal funding, as Gore did, Mitchell says. Subsidizing Jackson's appearances would constitute a campaign expense, she said. If Jackson were traveling as a de facto agent of the Gore campaign, this could be a violation of federal law, Mitchell says. Jackson's campaign activity came at a time when 90 percent of his salary was being paid by one of his tax-exempt religious organizations. The ACU says this means Jackson was "substantially engaged full-time in traveling and speaking on behalf of [Democrats]" at a time when his tax-exempt group, which is forbidden by law from engaging in partisan political activity, was signing his paychecks. The complaint also alleges that staff, office space and overhead in Jackson's Chicago headquarters, which houses two tax-exempt Jackson groups prohibited from partisan political activity - was used to support pro-Democratic politicking. Reached last night, Jackson spokesman Lou Colasuonno said, "We haven't seen the complaint, but we're confident that our financial position will withstand scrutiny." The alleged violations are complicated, Mitchell acknowledges. But the law is the law. "It is arcane, these are myopic regulations," she acknowledged. "But that's what you get when you have campaign-finance regulations, and these people need to abide by them." The ACU recently filed a complaint against Jackson's groups with the IRS. ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
