Crapo committee files more campaign finance documents
UPDATE 5/4/18: Senator Mike Crapo’s campaign has filed another amendment to Federal Election Commission reports.
The campaign previously said it used a Capitol Hill condo just three times since 2014. The new letter reveals the campaign used the condo 78 times between June 26, 2014, and February 28, 2018, for various activities.
According to the Campaign for Accountability, the campaign used the condo at no cost for “campaign election review meetings,” “kitchen cabinet” meetings and “fundraising events.”
The campaign’s letter explained the committee did not pay for or report costs of each use because it understood it to be an in-kind contribution from Vicki Hart, the owner of the condo.
In its letter to the FEC, Campaign Treasurer Paul Kilgore said the committee said that on April 20, 2018, it reimbursed Hart $6,700 for 67 campaign events held at the condo in the 2016 election cycle and $1,100 for the 11 campaign-related events held in the space related to the upcoming 2022 election cycle.
Campaign for Accountability Executive Director Daniel Stevens said he plans to file an amended FEC complaint regarding the issue on Monday. “Given how extensively Crapo’s campaign used the condo, there are a lot of questions about whether his campaign broke any laws.”
He said CFA may also look into whether other Idaho campaigns also used the controversial condo.
You can see the Crapo campaign’s letter to the Federal Election Commission below.
ORIGINAL 4/26/18: Senator Mike Crapo’s political action committee, the “Freedom Fund,” has submitted new filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) admitting its failure to disclose in-kind political contributions.
The watchdog organization “Campaign for Accountability” filed a complaint against the Crapo campaign last week.
The filing revealed the fund neglected to report the use of a townhouse owned by lobbyist Vicki Hart for three fundraising events. Two events were held in 2014 and one in 2017.
Hart’s townhouse, located at 223 C Street NE in Washington D.C., is the same townhouse allegedly rented by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for the sum of $50 per night.
CFA Executive Director Daniel Stevens says there is still a question whether Hart charged Crapo’s PAC a fair market value to host the fundraisers. “It seems unlikely to me that someone could rent an event space on Capitol Hill for only $100,” said Stevens.
Crapo’s other committees have not filed any new documents with the Federal Election Commission related to the townhouse. In its original complaint, the CFA said Crapo had hosted a series of monthly fundraising events at the condo under the name of the “Freedom Fund” or the “Idaho Conservative Growth Fund.”
You can view the full document below.
