Group Backing Clinton Gets $1M From Untraceable Donors
By Julie Bykowicz. Hillary Rodham Clinton told a cheering crowd at her largest rally so far that “the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money” must be stopped. Two weeks later, the main super PAC backing her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination accepted a $1 million contribution that cannot be traced.
The seven-figure donation, made June 29 to the pro-Clinton Priorities USA Action, came from another super political action committee, called Fair Share Action. Its two lone contributors are Fair Share Inc. and Environment America Inc., according to records filed with Federal Election Commission.
Those two groups are nonprofits that are not legally required to reveal information about their donors. Such contributions are sometimes called “dark money” by advocates for stricter campaign finance rules.
“This appears to be an out-and-out laundering operation designed to keep secret from the public the original source of the funds given to the super PAC, which is required to disclose its contributors,” said Fred Wertheimer, director of one such group, the Washington-based Democracy 21.
Wertheimer urged Priorities to return the money and said that Clinton should demand that the super PAC “publicly disclose all of the original sources of money” of any contribution it receives. (Read more from “Group Backing Clinton Gets $1M From Untraceable Donors” HERE)
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Hillary Clinton Hits N.H. As Grumbles Grow
By Hillary Chabot. Hillary Clinton will be greeted by grumpy Granite State Democrats today demanding additional debates beyond the limited six sanctioned showdowns recently released by the Democratic National Committee — and even top DNC officials agree.
A group of high-ranking New Hampshire Democrats wrote an open letter yesterday demanding more debates, and a supporter of front-runner Hillary Clinton and former NHDP chair Kathy Sullivan concurred.
“Six may be too few,” Sullivan told the Herald. “Personally I’d like to have a debate after Iowa and before the New Hampshire primary in New Hampshire. That’s not on the schedule. I’m a member of the DNC, so they’ll probably get upset with me for saying that, but that’s how I feel.”
The DNC confirmed a six-debate schedule last week that allows all five Democratic candidates to face off in key states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina starting on Oct. 13. But Gov. Martin O’Malley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders immediately took issue with the low number of debates — and other top Dems soon followed suit.
“It’s crazy. We need some action on our side. Six debates aren’t enough,” said Phil Johnston, former Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman, who pointed to the 24 million audience members who tuned in to the Republican debate last week. “That’s all you need to know.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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