FEC & DOJ: Complaints Filed Against “Straw Companies” that Funneled $12 million to FreedomWorks Super PAC

Today, the Campaign Legal Center, joined by Democracy 21, asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate possible violations of campaign finance law by two companies that appear to have been created for the purpose of funneling $12 million to the Super PAC FreedomWorks for America, while hiding from the public the source of the funds. Specialty Group Inc. and Kingston Pike Development LLC were both created by William S. Rose of Knoxville, Tennessee in late September 2012 and over the six weeks leading up to Election Day funneled more than $12 million to FreedomWorks.

“Federal law prohibits making contributions ‘in the name of another person.’ This law is essential to providing voters with accurate disclosure regarding the true source of funds contributed to political committees such as FreedomWorks,” said Paul S. Ryan, Campaign Legal Center Senior Counsel. “These companies appear to have been created to hide the identities of one or more donors that pumped millions of dollars into a Super PACs anonymously in the final weeks before an election. If these laws are not enforced and donors are allowed to contribute millions of dollars to Super PACs in the name of straw companies, not only will campaign finance disclosure laws be rendered useless, but the door will be left wide open to the possibility of foreign campaign contributions helping determine election outcomes in the United States.”

To read the FEC complaint, click here. To read the letter to the Department of Justice, click here.