Drowsy Gets Smacked
20 August 2007 5:11 pm by Taylor Marsh
Drowsy Gets Smacked updated & bumped
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| screen capture via Crooks & Liars |
Lane Hudson files a complaint. It’s a thing of beauty. Here’s a snippet, but the whole piece is priceless.
Dear Counsel:
I write to file a complaint against the Fred Thompson for President Exploratory
Committee for violation of Federal Election Law under the Commission’s jurisdiction.
It is clear that he has violated 11 CFR 100.72, the “testing the waters”
provision of FEC law. Accordingly, his failure to file disclosure reports
violates the law, and the Commission should demand full disclosure of Mr.
Thompson’s campaign fund raising and expenditures, as well as penalize Mr.
Thompson for his willful violation of the law.As I understand the law, a “testing the waters” fund is only legitimate
for the purpose of helping an individual decide whether he should become a
candidate. Once someone has decided to become a candidate, the exemption no
longer applies, and 11 CFR 100.72 lists five factors to determine when that
has taken place. On three of these factors, the examples are numerous that
indicate that Mr. Thompson has gone far beyond the activities and speech allowable
under the law. These examples do not come from personal knowledge, but rather
from numerous accounts in the press, some being direct quotations from Mr.
Thompson or his staff. Other facts reported are from public documents available
on the internet.A. 11 CFR 100.72(B)(2) — “The individual raises funds in excess of what
could reasonably be expected to be used for exploratory activities or undertakes
activities designed to amass campaign funds that would be spent after he or
she becomes a candidate.” .. …
How long can a candidate get away with hogging up cash without declaring? It’s
a great question.
As for the drowsy description of Fred Thompson, as I’ve stated many times,
I just don’t get the attraction. He looks like a relic, even cadaverous. He
sounds even worse.
“Yes, I do. I really do. We’re going to be getting in, if we get in, and of course we’re testing the waters phase, legality. We’re going to make a statement shortly that’ll cure all of that, but yes, we’ll be in traditionally when people get in.” – Fred “drowsy” Thompson
UPDATE: A lot has happened since I posted on this at 10:00 a.m. this morning. It now has serious legs. News Coverage: “Blogger files FEC complaint against Thompson”, ABC News, Washington Post. So now it’s time for action: FEC Phone Number: (800) 424-9530; In Washington (202) 694-1100.
