Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook responds to Sanders FALSE Victory Fund allegation.

[riversedge]

Well said Robby.




Alex Seitz-Wald Verified account
‏@aseitzwald

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook responds to Sanders FALSE Victory Fund allegation.






........................



Alex Seitz-Wald ‏@aseitzwald 2h2 hours ago

DNC statement on Hillary Victory Fund issue.



:large

[JonLeibowitz]

1. Robby Mook's statement doesn't refute any of the specific allegations. It just throws shade

The problem is the JFC is washing/laundering the big dollar donations (in excess of the contributions allowed to HFA, $2700) to solicit small dollar donations to HFA. Those are outreach dollars that would otherwise have to be spent by HFA, since money is fungible. This is the source of the in-kind donation complaint.

[riversedge]

3. 'false attacks' says it. Now you know.

[JonLeibowitz]

6. Some of us prefer specific explanations rather than "nuh uh"

This not being 2nd grade, you see.

[bjo59]

27. Thank you.

The 2nd grade thing is first, tiresome and then, slightly demoralizing. The constant childish approach to debate functions as an impenetrable wall of non-communication. Reminscent of when kids put their fingers in their ears and go "na na na na na na" when they don't want to face anything that is not part of their inner, self-created reality. Oh well. It has no effect on the reality going on outside of message boards.

[think]

7. A former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission had some very choice words for the fund:

Democratic Party fundraising effort helps Clinton find new donors, too

By Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger February 20 2016

~Snip~

A record 32 state parties signed on to the fund, allowing the committee to solicit donations 130 times greater than what a supporter can give to Clinton’s campaign for the primary.

But the states have yet to see a financial windfall. Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign has been a major beneficiary, getting an infusion of low-dollar contributions through the committee at a time when rival Bernie Sanders’s army of small donors is helping him close in on her financially. The fund is run by Clinton campaign staff, and its treasurer is Clinton’s chief operating officer.

~Snip~

The early, expansive use of a jumbo-size joint fundraising committee shows how the Clinton campaign has worked to maximize donations from wealthy supporters, seizing on rules loosened by the Supreme Court.

Many states were wary of joining the effort, worried that such a partnership would be perceived as an endorsement of Clinton and might interfere with their efforts to raise money from home state donors. But campaign officials — including Marlon Marshall, Clinton’s director of state campaigns — emphasized that this was a way to strengthen the party at its roots, a message Clinton echoed in the speech she delivered at the Minneapolis meeting to DNC members.

~Snip~

So far, the state parties have served only as a pass-through for their share of the funds. Campaign finance records show that nearly $2 million in donations to the fund initially routed last year to individual state party accounts was immediately transferred to the DNC, which is laboring to pay off millions of dollars in debt.

~Snip~

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Lawrence Noble, a former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) who is now with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “Joint victory funds are not intended to be separate operating committees that just support a single candidate. But they appear to be turning the traditional notion of a joint committee into a Hillary fundraising committee.”...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democratic-party-fundraising-effort-helps-clinton-find-new-donors-too/2016/02/19/b8535cea-d68f-11e5-b195-2e29a4e13425_story.html

[JonLeibowitz]

18. What is really damning is that they spent $4.3 Million to receive $3.24 Million in small $ donations

That screams money laundering.

[grasswire]

26. excellent, thanks nt

[beedle]

12. What you said was false. Now YOU know.

... oh ... to infinity.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. Exactly. n/t

[George II]

34. Just as none of the allegations have any validity.

Why doesn't the Sanders campaign say anything about their collusion with "democracyforamerica" running their email campaign, even though Sanders never misses an opportunity to say there are no super pacs working on his behalf?

[JonLeibowitz]

36. Democracy for America is not a Super PAC

https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00370007

My guess is that would be why.

[Trust Buster]

2. Sanders has run a very negative campaign. He's a divider IMO.

[think]

8. Hillary is looking to exploit any legal loophole she can. The "Victory Fund" is a prime example.

[Trust Buster]

10. If the Koch brothers can raise and spend $889 million, she can also raise $$$$$.

[JonLeibowitz]

13. These rules are being exploited against Democratic challengers. It's a bit different.

[think]

15. Her super pacs can. Her Victory Fund is suppose to raise money for down ticket Dems. Trickle Down

seems to be the word so far:

Democratic Party fundraising effort helps Clinton find new donors, too

By Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger February 20 2016

~Snip~

A record 32 state parties signed on to the fund, allowing the committee to solicit donations 130 times greater than what a supporter can give to Clinton’s campaign for the primary.

But the states have yet to see a financial windfall. Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign has been a major beneficiary, getting an infusion of low-dollar contributions through the committee at a time when rival Bernie Sanders’s army of small donors is helping him close in on her financially. The fund is run by Clinton campaign staff, and its treasurer is Clinton’s chief operating officer.

~Snip~

The early, expansive use of a jumbo-size joint fundraising committee shows how the Clinton campaign has worked to maximize donations from wealthy supporters, seizing on rules loosened by the Supreme Court.

Many states were wary of joining the effort, worried that such a partnership would be perceived as an endorsement of Clinton and might interfere with their efforts to raise money from home state donors. But campaign officials — including Marlon Marshall, Clinton’s director of state campaigns — emphasized that this was a way to strengthen the party at its roots, a message Clinton echoed in the speech she delivered at the Minneapolis meeting to DNC members.

~Snip~

So far, the state parties have served only as a pass-through for their share of the funds. Campaign finance records show that nearly $2 million in donations to the fund initially routed last year to individual state party accounts was immediately transferred to the DNC, which is laboring to pay off millions of dollars in debt.

~Snip~

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Lawrence Noble, a former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) who is now with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “Joint victory funds are not intended to be separate operating committees that just support a single candidate. But they appear to be turning the traditional notion of a joint committee into a Hillary fundraising committee.”...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democratic-party-fundraising-effort-helps-clinton-find-new-donors-too/2016/02/19/b8535cea-d68f-11e5-b195-2e29a4e13425_story.html

[rachacha]

9. Casting light on corruption does have a tendency to upset people

[Trust Buster]

14. It's more a case of casting light on a losing campaign.

[rachacha]

17. Sanders has consistently opposed funding tricks like the Hillary Victory Fund

because they give a bigger voice to the wealthy.

[CruzinNCrying]

19. Sometimes...

Sometimes the truth doesn't leave that warm, fuzzy glow you thought it would.

[YouDig]

5. The lawsuit is a publicity stunt.

The Hillary Campaign didn't actually break any rules. The purpose of the lawsuit is to rebut George Clooney's point that the money raised at that fundraiser went to downballot Democrats.

[JonLeibowitz]

11. you can refer yourself to posts #1 and #7 for what is wrong. You're welcome.

[YouDig]

20. There's no legal case here, because it's not illegal.

And the timing makes it obvious it's a political move -- right after the Clooney fundraiser, the day before the NY primary.

The strategy here from the Sanders Campaign is to file the lawsuit, and then do a day on the media circuit getting their talking points out there, using the lawsuit to give their allegations more punch.

Do you really think this lawsuit is going to get anywhere near a courtroom? Or was even intended to?

[JonLeibowitz]

22. As a citizen I share the complaints of the lawsuit.

That it was filed directly after the Clooney fundraiser seems appropriate.

The Washington Post has reported on what they're up to. It's very clear.

[Skink]

16. Right no money laundering here

She is probably already looking into converting it to bit coin.

[sadoldgirl]

23. Is that the same Mook, who wrote three

e-mails to me right after the the break of the
computer wall in October and November?

I am impressed.

[Renew Deal]

24. Sanders has managed to disqualify himself

Hillary didn't need to do anything.

[itsrobert]

25. +1

Maybe he can get a job at the Vatican as the official greeter?

[k8conant]

28. -1

[Jitter65]

29. Why didn't he mention the FEC charges against the Sanders' campaign and the money they had to return

[angrychair]

33. Because

Your ridiculous insinuation aside, there never was an issue and all questions were answered and addressed in full.

[Live and Learn]

30. LOL Responds with no facts! Typical. nt

[Gothmog]

31. Sanders Campaign Oddly Accuses Clinton and DNC of Troubling, Perhaps Illegal, Fundraising Practices

Prof Hasen analysis on these silly claims http://electionlawblog.org/?p=81996

This letter from Sanders’ lawyer Brad Deutsch (and see this accompanying press release) say there are some “serious apparent violations” of campaign finance law. I’m not so sure that’s right, and suspect this letter is less about legality and more about feeding into the Sanders’ campaign theme that Hillary Clinton is corrupt in her campaign finance dealings.

Here’s the deal. Clinton, like Sanders and other presidential candidates, has set up a joint fundraising committee with her political party. The JFC allows you to raise a huge chunk of change (more now than in past campaigns, thanks to the Supreme Court blowing out the aggregate federal limits in the McCutcheon case). A small bit goes to the candidate’s committee under the federal limits (currently $2,700 for the primary and $2,700 for the general). The next bit goes to the DNC, and the rest so state parties in $10,000 chunks. Sanders is accusing the joint committee of raising really big donations, and then having the JFC using some of those really big donations to engage in direct mail and internet targeting of small donors. When those small donors donate small amounts, contributions up to the first $2,700 benefit Clinton under the JFC agreement, and because these are small donors, it means Clinton gets all that small donor money.

The Deutsch letter cites no authority showing that this use of the JFC is not allowed, and it is hard to see what provision of the law it violates when donors give only small amounts that happen to benefit only Clinton. The letter says that maybe this is like an in-kind contribution from the DNC to the Clinton campaign, but I don’t see how it is that if the money is coming from the JFC not from the committee. The letter even says this means that those giving big checks to the DNC might thereby be giving more than the $2,700 to Clinton, which is not literally true—it is what the JFC is doing with the money, over which the donors have no control.

So legally this seems weak.

And politically, it is quite odd for Sanders, who would need the DNC’s support to win the presidency should be be the Democratic nominee, to be attacking the DNC. (Then again, Trump has relentlessly attacked the RNC, so this must be the celebration of the season.)

[postatomic]

32. Thank you. Anyone who can comprehend English can see this is bullshit

And politically, it is quite odd for Sanders, who would need the DNC’s support to win the presidency should be be the Democratic nominee, to be attacking the DNC. (Then again, Trump has relentlessly attacked the RNC, so this must be the celebration of the season.)

Question for His supporters: Is this the action of a presidential candidate that is serious about being president?

The DNC should just say "fuck you" to Brad Deutsch. There is NO case here. This is just a very sleazy political move. If this doesn't work The Sandman can have his congregation bang pots and pans outside the FEC.

[ismnotwasm]

35. Yeah I just got that email too.

Very happy with this rapid response

[SheenaR]

37. Sanders accuses Clinton Campaign

Mook says Sanders is lying


Mook is a hero.


Ok. Got it.

[kstewart33]

39. Oh Bern, false accusations at the eleventh hour - not helping his brand.

Big boo boo.

[Surya Gayatri]

40. Good job. Hoist them on their own deceptive petard...