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“Errors. Excessive. Unclear sources. These are the words being used to describe Congresswoman McSally’s disregard for campaign finance disclosure,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “Arizonans are rightfully concerned that she did not return these inappropriate donations until after she was exposed in the press.”
Key Sections:
The issue has been a blemish on what has been a fast start to the political career of the former Air Force pilot and fighter-squadron commander.
The campaign also will report refunding $42,600 in contributions and identifying another $6,680 given from anonymous sources…
Rep. Martha McSally to correct campaign-finance reports
Arizona Republic
By Bill Theobald
WASHINGTON — Arizona Rep. Martha McSally’s campaign committee will amend numerous campaign-finance reports Sunday to try to resolve nagging problems with the accuracy and completeness of her disclosures to the Federal Election Commission.
The amendments are the result of an expensive, intensive effort by her committee to address questions raised by the FEC about contributors who exceeded donation limits; incomplete and omitted information for some donations and expenditures; and a lack of information about donors’ occupations and employers.
The issue has been a blemish on what has been a fast start to the political career of the former Air Force pilot and fighter-squadron commander.
“It is important to understand these errors were … of FEC reporting. No funds were mismanaged, lost or misspent,” her campaign manager, Weston McKee, said in a written statement that was part of a detailed explanation provided to The Arizona Republic.
McKee said that as a result of the committee’s “unprecedented” eight-month review, “lessons were learned and systems are in place ensuring they are not repeated.”
The review found the committee raised about $6.41 million and spent about $5.95 million from 2012 through 2014. That compares to previously reported totals of $6.13 million raised and $6.11 million spent during the period.
The campaign also will report refunding $42,600 in contributions and identifying another $6,680 given from anonymous sources that will be donated to local charities.
McSally first ran for Congress in early 2012, losing in an April primary that was part of a special election to replace Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Giffords resigned after being wounded in a mass shooting at an event at a Tucson-area shopping center. McSally ran a second time that fall, losing a close race to Democrat Ron Barber. McSally defeated Barber in November 2014.
The problems with McSally’s campaign-finance reporting began with her first filings in 2012, and her committee has received 14 letters from the FEC pointing out errors and omissions and asking for additional information. During that time, her committee has gone through five treasurers.
In May 2015, the committee hired three people with experience in campaign reporting. One, Chris Marston of North Rock Reports and Elections CFO, along with his team conducted the comprehensive of past reports. Marston will be paid $30,000 for the audit.
Their review focused on the following problems:
- Errors in how much cash the campaign had at the beginning and end of reporting periods.
- Excessive contributions. FEC regulations allow a committee to ask donors who have exceeded campaign-donation limits whether they want to attribute the excess amount to a spouse or assign the additional amount to a different election period. The money also may be refunded. Refunds were made to 20 contributors who made excessive contributions.
- Contributions from unclear sources. These involved potentially illegal contributions from corporations and cases in which the imprint on the check was not clear, or cash was given anonymously. In each case, when the committee could not resolve the matter, it refunded contributions.
The auditors also tried to correct some instances in which disbursements were not properly itemized, and to obtain the occupation and employer of individual donors when that information had not been provided.
The FEC has repeatedly flagged the lack of information about individual donors in letters to the campaign.
Last fall, a Tucson woman, with help from the Pima County Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, filed a complaint against the McSally campaign with the FEC, claiming its failure to collect donors’ identifying data violated campaign-finance laws and regulations.