| As John reported over the weekend, Assemblyman Greg Ball, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic incumbent John Hall in the 19th congressional district, is on the receiving end of an FEC complaint that was filed because of alleged violations of campaign finance law.
You can read the complaint here.
The complaint alleges the following:
- On June 5, 2009, Ball's "Congressional Exploratory Committee" hosted a golf outing at Hudson Hills Golf Course and Murphy's Restaurant. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that. But according to the complaint, Ball's committee solicited and accepted corporate contributions for a fundraising auction, which is illegal.
From the complaint:
10. On or about May 1, 2009, Jacqueline Ambrosino, a Ball representative, sent an email to a distribution list soliciting donations for the silent auctions. See Exhibit A. "We are looking for tickets to sporting events, televisions, gift certificates to restaurants and services (such as legal and accounting services), foursomes for other golf courses, trips, plane tickets, spa gift certificates, televisions, just to name a few ..." Exhibit A.
11. The May 1, 2009, email expressly asked for corporate contributions: "You can reach out to your network and try to get donations from both businesses and people. Exhibit A (emphasis supplied).
"When working with a business, you can emphasize the foot traffic that will be generated by having their name featured at our event and in a brochure to be handed out to everyone that attends." Exhibit A (emphasis supplied).
- The complaint also alleges that Ball's committee accepted corporate sponsorships and sought "excessive contributions" for an event.
Again, from the complaint:
12. On or about July 25, 2009, Ball's campaign sponsored a "Rockin' Rib Fest & Battle of the Bands." Exhibit B.
13. The July 25, 2009, event was "sponsored" by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and the National Rifle Association. Exhibit B. On information and belief, both entities are corporations.
14. The Ball campaign sought additional "sponsorships" in connection with the July 25, 2009, event, including a "VIP Congressional Tent Sponsorship" priced at $2,900 - $500 in excess of the federal contribution limit. Exhibit B. Other Ball event solicitations have shown similar indifference to the $2,400 limit. See, e.g., http://www.ballforcongress.com... (Exhibit C) (asking for $2,500 and $4,800 contributions, without regard to the per-election limit).
It should also be clear that the event in question on July 25 was not "sponsored" (that's why it is in quotes and not stated as fact) by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association or the NRA.
From Mark Hoops, who is a member of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council:
As a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, and a member both of the NYSRPA and the NRA, I want to point out that Greg Ball's campaign committee distributed fliers which CLAIMED sponsorship by these entities, but in fact, Tom King---President of NYSRPA--- had no idea that Ball's campaign was going to make this claim. The NRA and the NYSRPA are both 501 (c) 3 organizations, and as such are PROHIBITED from endorsing candidates for election. The NYSRPA has a subsidiary, the Political Victory Fund (PVF) which DOES endorse candidates, but it is not incorporated integrally with NYSRPA. Likewise, the NRA-PVF endorses, but these are NOT the organizations advertised as "sponsoring" the July 25th event. (He also claimed that Senator Vincent Leibell was a sponsor---uh, no he wasn't.) The NRA and NYSRPA will not like the specter of seeming to have expressly endorsed a political candidate...they do not break the law. Ball did.
- The complaint also alleges illegal robocalls that were paid for by the Ball committee but not attributed to his committee and did not include who authorized the call. Federal laws require calls of that magnitude to include who paid for the call and to say that it was authorized by the candidate.
19. Ball's July 15 Quarterly Report discloses an in-kind contribution made on June 29, 2009, by Brian Callaghan in the form of "Automated Calls." Exhibit E.
20. On or about June 29, 2009, an automated call featuring Ball was distributed to voters in the 19th Congressional District. The call contained no statement indicating who had paid for the call, or whether Ball had authorized it. See Exhibit F.
- The last allegation is that Ball transferred money from his Assembly campaign committee to his congressional committee, a big no-no since you can't use non-federal monies for a federal race. To date, there have been two filings for Ball4NY, Ball's committee. Nowhere does it show payment for these items for the use of resources from his nonfederal campaign and his official New York State Assembly office.
17. Ball's federal campaign has made and is making repeated use of photos, videos and other assets from his nonfederal campaign and/or his official New York Assembly office.
See, e.g., http://www.ballforcongress.com... (Exhibit D). Ball's filings to date with the Federal Election Commission show no payment to his Assembly campaign, nor to the State of New York, for the use of these photos
Gary Levine, the man who has brought the FEC complaint against Ball, had this to say to me when I inquired about the complaint:
The reason for the complaint was because Assemblyman Ball violated FEC laws. If he wants to play politics he should play by the established rules and he didn't. Whether it was flagrant or unintentional it does not matter. Either way it is a violation and it does not bode well for the Assemblyman, his campaign or his current constituents.
The charges here are pretty serious. Some of these charges revolve around things that are basic. His committee should know the FEC guidelines and that there are limits on contributions. Setting $2,900 contribution levels just comes off as lazy (or intentional) to me. It's clear that either they were ignorant in regard to the rules, or they intended on trying to get by without anyone noticing. That's tough in politics, since everyone is watching. |
