NRA Fined $63,000 for Campaign Finance Ethics Violation

In January the NRA' was fined $63,000 for illegally funneling money from its National PAC to its local Rhode Island PAC.

The surprising part of this story though is not that any PAC could get up to these kind of Shenanigans or that they got caught.

The surprising part is who caught them. And the fact that the NRA didn't even really bother to hide their fraud.

What the stories didn’t reveal? That the NRA’s wrongdoing, the record fine, and the shuttering of the NRA’s Rhode Island PAC was the result of the initial hunch of one person: Brown University student Sam Bell.

Bell’s story is certainly noteworthy for its David-and-Goliath appeal; the plot notes sound like a chilled-out version of “A Civil Action.” It’s also remarkable for the NRA’s astonishingly poor cover-up (their reports defy simple arithmetic) and the even more stunning realization that nobody checked them for ten years. But the real reasons Bell matters — the success of his legal complaint and the clues that led him there — together represent something else entirely: a new model, potentially, for enforcing campaign finance laws in Rhode Island and around the country.

I know that criticizing the NRA on these boards is akin to telling a new Mother her Baby is ugly.

But the point of this thread is to point out the dodgy dealings of PACs in general.

The NRA PAC got caught. How many others have not?

How One Brown Student Took Down The NRA

reply to post by BritofTexas


All PAC's suck. They are all corrupt. Just because this PAC has NRA on it, doesn't make it any less corrupt.

reply to post by BritofTexas


Flag for bringing this up and a star for the ugly baby comment!

I know coruption is everywhere, it just pains me when it's my team. Snipping NRA.

I understand this is a mountain of achievement in his own life and it's not a small thing in the overall picture these days. Any victory on corruption is important, wherever it's found.

Still, aside from the David and Goliath Aspect, I think the biggest thing to come away with isn't that they moved money from one NRA group to another NRA group in violation of some regulations on doing it ...It's how arrogant the NRA has become in what they do with a true attitude of being above it all for accountability.

The NRA actually worked against both the Heller and McDonald cases at various points, arguing it was too large a risk with stakes too high to risk at all, to have it all hinge on single Super Court decisions. Thankfully, others recalled their purpose in being, to serve the cause they existed to advance ....unlike the NRA. Their only cause, in my personal view, is their OWN advancement these days.

More power to those who hold them to account...I just hope perspective is kept for seeing they are one turd in a really full septic tank.

Wrabbit2000
More power to those who hold them to account...I just hope perspective is kept for seeing they are one turd in a really full septic tank.

It is indeed time we Flushed the Tank.

Both national and local PACs sharing a bank account? I seem to remember a story of The Chamber of Commerce arguing they did not need separate accounts for Domestic and Foreign donations even though Foreign money cannot be used in a Domestic Election.

It's the arrogance of not even trying to hide what they were doing. PACs have control of the system and now believe they are bullet proof. (no pun intended )

63k fine isn't even going to be noticed by the NRA. Nothing will change; the PAC corruption will continue to grow and spread.
Money talks and BS walks. The power brokers know how to play the game and the rest of us will continue to warm the benches.

beezzer
reply to post by BritofTexas

 

All PAC's suck. They are all corrupt. Just because this PAC has NRA on it, doesn't make it any less corrupt.

But the national parties, including the DNC, send money to local party affiliates all of the time. How is the any different or fraudulent?

Well now aint this a peach?

Bad NRA!

BAD!

So who do we fine for the ethical violations of the US constitution namely the second Amendment ?

Tell me ?

The biggest reason for the creation of the NRA, and it's growth over the last 70 years is because on the nonstop assault on Americans civil liberties.

Hell someone has to stand up for Americans even though some people are saying,' meh them guns are bad!'

And no I am not a member of the NRA, nor the Republican party, nor have I ever given either money.

Don't believe in buying people.

NavyDoc

beezzer
reply to post by BritofTexas

 

All PAC's suck. They are all corrupt. Just because this PAC has NRA on it, doesn't make it any less corrupt.

But the national parties, including the DNC, send money to local party affiliates all of the time. How is the any different or fraudulent?

Because they aren't PAC's?

I dunno, to be honest. The laws are so purposefully convoluted that it's difficult to see if this is an arbitrary adherence to the law, or something that goes on all the time.

beezzer

NavyDoc

beezzer
reply to post by BritofTexas

 

All PAC's suck. They are all corrupt. Just because this PAC has NRA on it, doesn't make it any less corrupt.

But the national parties, including the DNC, send money to local party affiliates all of the time. How is the any different or fraudulent?

Because they aren't PAC's?

I dunno, to be honest. The laws are so purposefully convoluted that it's difficult to see if this is an arbitrary adherence to the law, or something that goes on all the time.

That's the point. The finance laws are so convoluted and designed to support a two party system by limiting competition. If the National DNC or GOP can send money to local elections and local organizations, why not a PAC?

As for Sam Bell, he isn't exactly just someone who happened upon something .

Sam Bell, State Coordinator for the RI Progressive Democrats of America

So an operative for one side of the aisle finds dirt on his opponent. I wonder if he did the same investigation of the Brady Campaign? Geenpeace or any other "progressive" causes.

NavyDoc


So an operative for one side of the aisle finds dirt on his opponent. I wonder if he did the same investigation of the Brady Campaign? Geenpeace or any other "progressive" causes.

Of course not.

But it doesn't excuse the actions of the NRA either.

The whole damned system is corrupt.

beezzer

NavyDoc


So an operative for one side of the aisle finds dirt on his opponent. I wonder if he did the same investigation of the Brady Campaign? Geenpeace or any other "progressive" causes.

Of course not.

But it doesn't excuse the actions of the NRA either.

The whole damned system is corrupt.

Fair point. IMHO, anyone should be able to donate any amount they want to a campaign or cause and the law should just make sure that all donations are open and declared and keep foreign money out altogether. The Saudis supported Bush's campaign and the Red Chinese supported Clinton. Neither should have happened.

When politicians set up a myriad of rules and laws and exemptions, they always put in loopholes so that their contributions are exempt.

reply to post by NavyDoc

Sam Bell, State Coordinator for the RI Progressive Democrats of America

Hmmm.

I bet they had some "help" from within.

Sounds like a standard infiltration and set up.

reply to post by BritofTexas


reading the story and watching the interview , this incidence IMHO reflects far worse on the rhode island democrats than the NRA

ignorant_ape
reply to post by BritofTexas

 

reading the story and watching the interview , this incidence IMHO reflects far worse on the rhode island democrats than the NRA

The NRA are fined for breaking the law, but the local Democrats are to blame?

Thanks for the spin.

I was hoping to keep this Thread Bi-Partisan but alas.........

NavyDoc

beezzer
reply to post by BritofTexas

 

All PAC's suck. They are all corrupt. Just because this PAC has NRA on it, doesn't make it any less corrupt.

But the national parties, including the DNC, send money to local party affiliates all of the time. How is the any different or fraudulent?

A good question, that I don't have an answer for. But if I had to guess it would be they don't directly give them money, they just simply spend it themselves in any targeted campaign. Much in the same way a candidate will buy an ad, then the national party buys an ad and then the State or even certain local parties buy ads. You don't necessarily have to give the smaller organization the money directly to spend money in their particular territory.

I am all for publicly funding campaigns at this point. Each candidate gets x amount of dollars whoever spends it most effectively wins. Because until we separate the Government from those that can afford to pay to play the corruption will only get worse.

KeliOnyx

I am all for publicly funding campaigns at this point. Each candidate gets x amount of dollars whoever spends it most effectively wins. Because until we separate the Government from those that can afford to pay to play the corruption will only get worse.

Agreed the system is broken when we watch our politicians whore themselves to the corporations, the insane thing is we the people are willing allow political lobbying / bribery

reply to post by BritofTexas


no - the " spin " is all yours - try reading the story again and understand what I wrote - then it might sink in

originally posted by: olaru12
63k fine isn't even going to be noticed by the NRA. Nothing will change; the PAC corruption will continue to grow and spread.
Money talks and BS walks. The power brokers know how to play the game and the rest of us will continue to warm the benches.

Apparently nothing has changed, because this story broke yesterday:
The NRA’s brazen shell game with donations

Early last summer I began making contributions to the National Rifle Association — a dollar here, a dollar there — to see where my money would end up. Some of it quickly found its way into the account of the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund, the NRA’s political action committee. And that was of no small interest, because I never knowingly contributed to the NRA-PVF... But my contributions and others like them may be a big problem for the NRA because, according to some of the nation’s top experts on federal election law, they are all illegal.
...
Larry Noble, who was general counsel at the Federal Election Commission for 13 years, now serving as senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said there was no question that the way the NRA solicited my contributions violated federal election law if the money went into a PVF account. “The bottom line is that it is illegal for the NRA to solicit money for the ILA and have that money go to the PVF. I don’t see how your contributions could legally be put in the PVF account.”

And that's not all - there is another problem:

The NRA has been able to hide the full extent of its corporate political spending from the IRS by answering “no” to the following question on its IRS Form 990 tax returns, the tax form required of tax-exempt organizations: “Did the organization engage in direct or indirect political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office?”
...
The NRA neglected to report these expenditures for seven years beginning in 2007.
...
According to attorney Brett Kappel, the NRA could also be targeted for violations of federal or state consumer fraud statutes. “You can’t make false claims to the general public; you can’t ask for money for X for educational purposes when in fact the money is going to Y for political purposes,” said Kappel. “It would be a fraud for a 501(c​)(4) [like the NRA] to solicit money for itself but then divert it to another legal entity” such as the NRA Political Victory Fund.

So, three different illegal activities related to the donations plus tax fraud.

Nope. Nothing's changed.

When any group gets big, the temptation to abuse it arises. It'll be easier for them to be in the right if they wear at your heroes of the second amendment down. I won't let it because I never needed a voice to bare arms, I just do. I know you say they fight for our right but I'm fine fighting it in other ways. Like looking down the barrel if need be.