REFUNDS PLANNED: Says John Burris

  • REFUNDS PLANNED: Says John Burris

House Minority Leader John Burris tells me the matter of improperly raised soft money contributions for state Republican legislative races will be resolved by returning all corporate contributions.

Advertisement

You may recall that blogger Michael Cook dug up the fact that a party to raise corporate cash — soft money — featured U.S. Rep. Steve Womack as host. Corporations also were listed as hosts. Use of a member of congress to raise corporate soft money is prohibited by the Federal Election Commission. Womack himself immediately said that if rules were violated, the money should be returned. Burris, and other Republicans, responded initially that the problem was one of semantics. They said that if the invitations had been worded differently — by calling Womack something other than a host — everything would have been legit.

If wishes and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.

There the matter went silent. I’d been trying to get responses from promoters of the party — Burris, Lt. Gov. Mark Darr and Teresa Oelke, who is paid by the Koch billionaires’ front group, Americans for Prosperity. Silence. So I went to Twittering this morning. Every time a Republican touted opinions of shortcomings in the Obama health care reform law, I asked what they thought about a clear-cut violation of campaign finance law.

Advertisement

Burris, who is prone to fits of reasonableness, finally responded. He said my complaints were “old news” because the party was in the process of returning contributions. That was news to me. He said by e-mail:

“We are returning the corporate contributions from the event. Darr and Womack were all involved the discussion.”

Advertisement

He said all corporate contributions would be returned, not just to those who “desired” refunds, an option that had been suggested originally. He said there’d undoubtedly be future occasions to seek similar support from the same sources in the future.

Cook said $25,000 to $30,000 was raised. Presumably, a report will be filed in time on receipts and disbursements, including refunds.

Advertisement

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Police detail River Market shooting Next article Friday To-Do: Poptart Monkeys