CREW files formal complaint with FEC over RNC 150K clothes spending

[ProSense]

October 23, 2008

Formal complaint over formal wear

My colleague Jeanne Cummings -- who broke the original Palin wardrobe story -- reports:

It was inevitable.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a watchdog group, has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Sarah Palin and the Republican National Committee claiming the RNC violated campaign finance laws when it paid for $150,000 for clothes for the party’s vice presidential nominee and her family.

Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director, said the purchases should be disallowed under campaign finance rules that prevent candidates from using campaign cash to buy items of “personal use,” including clothing.

Campaign finance experts say those rules have never been applied to party committee accounts.

The twist in this case is that the RNC fashion funds came from a joint account held by the RNC and the McCain-Palin campaign. The Federal Election Commission has never ruled on weather the personal use ban should apply to funds in that particular type of account.

It’s an interesting question but the chances of getting an answer before Election Day are basically zip for two reasons.

The FEC, like all government agencies, has a procedure to follow – on that can’t be accommodated in the less than two weeks left in the campaign.

And, perhaps more importantly, the FEC commissioners are evenly divided along partisan lines, three Democrats and three Republicans. So, even if the Democrats sought to expedite the complaint, which is not likely, they’d need a Republican to vote along with them, which is extraordinarily not likely.

[leftofcool]

1. Nice try but it probably won't fly

[AlCzervik]

3. but if it buys some more news cycles than great. This whole story makes McCain's

message even more absurd and then Eliza Knowslittle up on the stump talking about Joe the plumber?

[ProSense]

6. I actually think there is something to this.

Can you imagine that it's allowed for political parties to spend money on clothes? What's to stop every candidate in every race to dip in for a wardrobe. I doubt that's why people make contributions. The Republican voters have every right to be upset.

We know that it's illegal to spend money on personal travel.

[WCGreen]

9. If they are given to her, she would have to recognize them as income...

So all the clothing is loaner clothing that will be turned over the charity after the election...

[ProSense]

4. Yeah, right. n/t

[QueenOfCalifornia]

2. Maybe

the squadron of bubble-headed-talking heads will stop trying to defend this idiotic expenditure of donated funds by all those Joe the Plumbers out there.

Oops...

I was being logical... I must be slipping up. :D

[Blaze Diem]

5. Oh well, keeping this fire fueled is ok with me.

Its obvious that if Palin remains anywhere in government, she'll have to have a watchdog group following her around since she's stupid and self indulgent, and now taking her lessons from the best of the swindlers.

[ProSense]

7. More

fuel.

[Blaze Diem]

10. WoW ... Feels warmer already..Where'd the money go??

Keep digging. There's a truth out there just begging to be revealed.
hmmm hmmm hmmm.

[ProSense]

8. THE OTHER WARDROBE MYSTERY....

Similarly, the RNC records show a charge of $98 at a high-end children's boutique in Minneapolis, but after going through their receipts, the store owners found no record of the sale.

And here I thought the story was odd enough before.

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