BUSTED! Pro-HRC Super PAC accepted illegal contributions

From The Hill June 29, 2016 regarding contribution by Suffolk Construction:


EXCLUSIVE: Pro-Hillary group takes $200K in banned donations

A super-PAC backing Hillary Clinton has accepted $200,000 in donations from a company holding multiple contracts with the federal government — despite a ban on such contributions.
-snip-
At the time it made the contributions, Suffolk held multiple contracts worth $976,560 with the Department of Defense for maintenance and construction projects at a Naval base in Newport, R.I., and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., according to the government website USASpending.gov.

Here's the Open Secrets link to the contributions made in July and December 2015:

Suffolk Construction contributions to Priorities USA

Two days after the story breaks, the money is refunded - from The Hill July 1, 2016:


Pro-Clinton PAC returns banned donations

After a review of federal contracting and campaign finance records, The Hill found that Suffolk had given $200,000 to the PAC, while, according to USAspending.gov, holding multiple contracts with the Department of Defense worth $976,560.

The site’s records show that the contracts were for fiscal 2016.

The ban on contributions from federal contractors is a longstanding law meant to prevent pay-to-play deals between companies receiving taxpayer money and public officials.

Since the first contribution was a year ago, the second was 6 months ago or so, there were plenty of time to reverse this voluntarily should either party have wished it or seen a necessity. The Priorities USA FEC page does not have the refund given. So it appears that The Hill article provoked the refund in the past few days.

Perhaps this reflects an attitude of: 'It's not illegal if we don't get caught,' which of course is not far off from 'It's not illegal if the president does it...'

Good job on THIS, The Hill!

Is less democratic form, however, The Hill is one of the rags selling access to their staff at the conventions: Major Political News Outlets Offer Interviews for Sale at DNC and RNC Conventions

FOR HIGH-ROLLING special interests looking to make an impression at the presidential conventions next month, one option is to pay a lot of money to a media outlet. Lobbyists for the oil industry, for instance, are picking up the tab for leading Beltway publications to host energy policy discussions at the convention, including The Atlantic and Politico.

And for the right price, some political media outlets are even offering special interviews with editorial staffers and promotional coverage at the convention.

and

The Hill newspaper, which is sponsoring events at both the RNC and DNC, offers sponsors “a turnkey and custom experience,” including a “Thought-Leader Luncheon” moderated by The Hill’s editorial staff and the luncheon sponsor, who also gets to “curate a list of participants from politics, government, media and industry.”

Sponsors who pay $200,000 are promised convention interviews with The Hill’s editorial staff for “up to three named executives or organization representatives of your choice,” according to a brochure obtained by The Intercept. “These interviews are pieces of earned media,” the brochure says, “and will be hosted on a dedicated page on thehill.com and promoted across The Hill’s digital and social media channels.” Our inquiries to The Hill went unanswered.

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WindDancer13's picture

I am sure there will be lots of interesting booths, and lots of cool giveaways. Break-away meetings will give pointers on how to fleece the public during the coming year and all the new technology available to steal elections.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

Anything goes until you're caught seems to be the motto or Hillary For Prison 2016...

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"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
snoopydawg's picture

They just add it legal by adding the word LOBBYISTS instead.
Our government is so corrupted that the only way for it to be fixed is for something to happen like what happened in Clancey's book Executive Orders when a Japanese pilot crashed his plane into the Capital Building where jack Ryan was being sworn in as Vice President. Everyone in Washington was there just like at the State of the Union Address.
Fortunately, jack was back in the tunnel and survived.
He then remade congress from regular people who had never served in government at any level and the tax code was rewritten and was only one page. No more subsidies, loopholes, companies keeping their profits offshore. Best ending of a book ever.

Here's a great article that shows more Washington corruption with the help from the Clintons.
I m not going to put any parts of it in my comment as I usually do so I hope that people will read the whole thing.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/teneo-final-221807

Maybe some one will diary this?

The corruption of our government at state and federal levels is getting worse each passing year.
The Supreme Court has legalized the buying of our government with dark money and even made bribing a government official legal.
And once the TPP passes, the last nail in the coffin of what used to be the United States of America will be pounded in.
I'm glad I'm as old as I am and some days wish I were older.
I can't imagine what life in the US is going to be like for people in their 20-30's.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.

MsGrin's picture

...about extra-curricular activities of the Clintons.

The State Department, citing privacy laws, would not disclose whether Kelly filed any disclosures of his consulting work while serving as special envoy.
Government employees are typically restricted in their ability to receive outside income. But Hillary Clinton’s State Department expanded the use of “special government employees,” a relatively rare status originally created for scientists and others with unusual technical expertise that cannot be provided in-house. This allowed certain workers chosen by her or her staff, including Kelly, to receive money from private firms, including those who might potentially have business before the federal government.

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'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member

snoopydawg's picture

The WH when they rented out the Lincoln bedroom for money and his sexual activities were so well know before he was president.

Now here is a article about how Hillary used the state department to further the foundation, and set up their friends to get rich from the connection between Clinton and other government officials.

Good God, what you block quoted is appalling and if that information was shown to her supporters, they still wouldn't see how corrupt the two of them are. I seriously do not get how people can see everything they have done and either turn a blind eye to it or dismiss it as right wing talking points.
I just don't!

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.

to convince (bribe) (exercise free speech) Hillary to quit the race?

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

Because they are continuing to rake it in and besides, I think they are addicted to the power of being able to do anything they want and know that no one can touch them.
They have been crooked since they entered politics back in Arkansas if not longer.
Remember how Hillary laughed about how she got the guy who had raped a 12 year old off and ruined her life?
I read an article recently about the woman and Hillary destroyed it by the way she went after her.
And that's our Hillary, isn't it? Standing up for women and children all over the world.
Except the ones who got thrown off of welfare, the kids that went to prison and especially all those women and children in the Middle East who are either dead or had to flee their country.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.