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Rep. Andrew Garbarino’s campaign has been reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for allegedly moving funds illegally into his congressional campaign.
Garbarino violated federal guidelines when he donated hundreds of dollars to his federal congressional account from his state campaign and failed to disclose more than $10,000 of in-kind contributions from his state campaign.
There are also allegations that his state campaign account accepted more than $3,000 from corporations and a state-level political committee, rendering it unable to donate to federal candidates according to federal law.
The Garbarino campaign has so far refused to comment on the allegations.
Recent polling shows this race is neck-and-neck with Jackie Gordon, and this latest news won’t bode well for Garbarino as voters are already casting their ballots.
DCCC Spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre:
“Garbarino is a career Albany politician who has constantly put his own political ambitions over Long Island values. He’s proven to us that he can’t be trusted to do what’s right, and voters deserve a new representative.”
Read more about Garbarino’s donation violation below.
American Independent: Republican New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino accused of campaign finance violations
By Josh Israel
October 14, 2022
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Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) is being accused of violating federal campaign finance rules during his successful 2020 campaign against Democratic former Babylon Town Council member Jackie Gordon, just as he faces a competitive 2022 rematch against Gordon to hold on to New York’s 2nd Congressional District.
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Garrett Petersen, a constituent and the deputy chair of the Islip Town Democratic Committee, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Aug. 31 alleging Garbarino, who served in the New York Legislature from 2013 to 2020, improperly donated $800 from his state campaign account to his federal congressional account.
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Petersen also accused Garbarino of failing to disclose “in-kind” contributions — donations of goods and services — to his campaign from his state campaign.
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“Around three months after he became a U.S. House candidate, on March 2, 2020, Garbarino’s State Committee contributed $800 to his Federal Committee,” the complaint says. “In addition, from May 2020 to September 2020, during the time in which Garbarino was campaigning for federal office, his state campaign made over $10,000 in disbursements for campaign expenses. As noted above, during this period, Garbarino was not running for state office.”
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Because state and federal campaign finance laws are widely different, state campaign committees are generally not permitted to spend money on or donate to federal candidates.
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According to the Federal Election Commission’s site, there are some exceptions for this, if the state committee’s funds “come from permissible sources.” Those would typically include small-dollar contributions from individuals and federal campaign committees, but not donations from corporations.
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The complaint alleges Garbarino’s state committee accepted donations from corporations and a state-level political committee, rendering it unable to donate to federal candidates. These contributions totaled $3,550 between January and August 2020, after Garbarino announced his candidacy for Congress in December 2019.
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The claim notes that there is “no evidence” that Garbarino’s state committee kept records of which donations could legally be used for federal campaign spending, or that it had received enough “permissible” money to cover those expenses.
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A spokesperson for Garbarino did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story.
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“Our local committee helped challenge a Dem who’d cheated on his petitions back during primary season, and if we’re going to make sure our team is playing by the rules, then certainly we’re going to make the other team [play] by them too,” he[Petersen] said.
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