The NRA's Top Election Contractor Still Won't Address Campaign Finance Concerns
On July 13, The Trace published an investigation into the National Rifle Association’s top election contractor, a mysterious firm called Starboard Strategic Inc. The article raised numerous questions about possible campaign finance violations committed by the gun group, and spurred action by a prominent election-spending watchdog: Three days after its publication, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. State political reporters, in turn, have directed attention to U.S. senators who have benefitted from Starboard’s work.
Yet despite continued requests, the company’s partners, one of whom has challenged the story’s findings, have declined to answer journalists’ inquiries and provide documents that would head off concerns about illegal election activities.
…
In its complaint, the Campaign Legal Center says there is “reason to believe” that the NRA violated campaign finance laws through its payments to Starboard, and calls on the FEC to conduct an “immediate investigation.”