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Anonymous ID: ed9ccb Oct. 11, 2018, 10:39 p.m. No.3448253   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8268 >>8282 >>8400 >>8598 >>8807 >>8880

In Fundraising Email for Hurricane Relief, Bill Nelson Directs Users to Group That Builds Donor Lists for Dem Campaigns

 

Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) on Wednesday sent out an email encouraging people to donate money for hurricane disaster relief with a list of nonprofit groups that provide aid, but he did not disclose that the links for each group direct users to the website of ActBlue, an organization that helps Democrats raise money and saves donor emails for future fundraising efforts.

 

Hurricane Michael hit Florida on Wednesday as a category 4 storm, leaving hundreds of thousands of Floridians without power and killing at least four people in the state. After the storm devastated the Florida Panhandle, it hammered Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia, killing at least another two people—a child in Georgia and a man in North Carolina. In total, nearly 1.1 million people in six states have been left without power. Within hours of the storm hitting, Nelson sent out an email with a list of nonprofit organizations, which he said are "vital resources for people who need help." The nonprofits include American Red Cross, Big Bend Homeless Coalition, Florida Disaster Fund, and Team Rubicon, among others. Each organization has a link that sends users to a page on ActBlue's website asking people to donate to hurricane relief efforts. Nelson also tweeted out an ActBlue link for people to give donations for hurricane relief on his website. ''"The devastation from #HurricaneMichael is widespread across the Panhandle and Big Bend in Florida," Nelson tweeted. "Anything you can give to these nonprofit organizations will help people with needed relief."''

 

ActBlue, a federally registered political action committee that was launched in 2004, has called itself "the online clearinghouse for Democratic action." "ActBlue is a nonprofit, building fundraising technology for the left," the organization says on its website. "Democratic campaigns get more donations through ActBlue than any other platform." "A majority of Democratic Senate and House campaigns—along with the DCCC, DSCC, DGA, over one-third of statewide campaigns, and advocacy organizations around the country—have chosen ActBlue," the website adds, noting that the organization has raised $2,862,403,745 for "Democrats and progressive causes" in 14 years.

 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee slammed Nelson for his "desperate attempt" at trying to win reelection next month. "Bill Nelson has reached a new low in a desperate attempt to save his political career," said NRSC spokesperson Camille Gallo. "While Floridians were trying to save their homes and lives, Bill Nelson used this tragedy as an opportunity to save his taxpayer-funded job by shamelessly using disaster relief efforts to bolster his fundraising operation." This is not the first fundraising email that Nelson sent this week. He sent multiple emails to voters who were within the path of the hurricane with bolded statements, including the captions "Losing Florida would cost Democrats the Senate" and "We can't win without your immediate donation, friends." Nelson also received backlash last year for trying to fundraise off Hurricane Irma. In an email at the time, Nelson attempted to raise money off his decision to urge major airlines not to raise fare prices with the storm coming toward Florida. Nelson, a three-term senator, faces Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R.) in his reelection bid next month.

 

https://freebeacon.com/politics/bill-nelson-sends-fundraising-email-hurricane-relief-build-donor-lists/

Anonymous ID: ed9ccb Oct. 11, 2018, 10:56 p.m. No.3448378   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8385 >>8400 >>8598 >>8807 >>8880

Manchin Wanted to Use Opioid Funding on Personal ‘Governor’s Helicopter’

 

Opioid overdose deaths nearly doubled in West Virginia under Manchin's watch

 

A decade ago, West Virginia was set to receive millions in a prescription drug settlement from the maker of OxyContin. Then-governor Joe Manchin vowed the funding would help his state win the “drug war once and for all.” Behind the scenes, however, Manchin was trying to secure a personal "Governor's Helicopter" with the funding, at a time when opioid deaths were climbing to the highest rate in the nation. Manchin's request of $3 million for the helicopter raised a "RED FLAG" from the head of West Virginia's criminal justice programs, according to an internal memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. Manchin, who served as governor from 2004 until 2010, was taking "the lead" on how to spend the $44 million settlement from Purdue Pharma for its misleading claims about the addictiveness of OxyContin. The governor wanted to "think out of the box a little bit" on how to spend the settlement money. "We may want to put forth a good, detailed plan to satisfy those areas [of prevention, awareness, education] but we may be wanting to think out of the box a little bit," said Joe Thornton, Manchin's cabinet secretary for military affairs and public safety. Thornton's comments came in September 2007 just as the state was about to receive its first payment, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. "The governor's office has a keen focus on this being spent in the law enforcement arena in these specific areas and knows what a dent this can put in our drug enforcement efforts throughout the state," Thornton said.

 

A month earlier, Manchin's administration was busy coming up with ways to spend the settlement funding. A memo circulated by Carte Goodwin, Manchin's chief counsel who he later appointed to fill the vacant seat left by Robert Byrd, included numerous proposed projects. One request came from Manchin himself, marked, "Governor's Helicopter." "Governor wants settlement funding dedicated to purchase a new helicopter," the memo states. "This request needs not only to determine the ability to fund, but under what circumstances would a helicopter be allowed under the stipulations of the settlement. Call me if you have questions or this doesn't make sense. $3 million." Thornton sent the proposed projects list to J. Norbert Federspiel, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice Services. Federspiel said he reviewed the list at the end of July with the U.S. attorney's office and made observations on which items would likely be approved for law enforcement purposes. Manchin's request for a personal helicopter received a "RED FLAG."

Anonymous ID: ed9ccb Oct. 11, 2018, 11:04 p.m. No.3448440   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8572 >>8598 >>8614 >>8807 >>8880

Manchin’s Failure to Report $700K D.C. Yacht Sparks Call for Probe From Watchdog

 

Manchin lives on yacht while in D.C.

 

A government watchdog group is calling for a probe into Joe Manchin's (D., W.V.) failure to report ownership of a limited liability company that holds a $700,000 yacht he lives on while he is in Washington, D.C. A complaint was filed to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics Thursday by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a D.C.-based ethics watchdog organization, alleging that Manchin violated Senate Ethics Rules in relation to financial disclosures. Manchin bought a 65-foot yacht, which he named "Almost Heaven", in October 2013 for $700,000. Manchin later transferred ownership of the yacht to Country Roads Marine LLC—a West Virginia-based LLC—that Manchin and his wife incorporated and are listed as members and officers, records show. Manchin docks the boat on the Potomac River in Southeast D.C. and resides in it while he is in the city.

 

However, since 2013, Manchin has failed to report ownership of Country Roads Marine LLC, which FACT says is a "serious violation of Senate Ethics Rules," given they require senators to list "outside compensation, holdings, transactions, liabilities, positions held and gifts received" on their financial disclosure reports. "Senate Ethics Rules and Federal law require that Senators ‘must indicate outside compensation, holdings, transactions, liabilities, positions held and gifts received on their Financial Disclosure Reports," the complaint notes, quoting the Senate Ethics Manual. "The Senate Ethics Manual further clarifies that Senators must disclose ‘[a]ny property held by the filer, his/her spouse, and/or dependent children for investment or the production of income' if their interest in the property is ‘worth more than $1,000 at the close of the reporting period or the property generated income of more than $200 during the reporting period."

 

Kendra Arnold, the executive director of FACT, said that Manchin has a history of evasive financial dealings and called his failure to report "reckless and irresponsible.""Senator Manchin has a history of being evasive when it comes to his financial dealings and interests, which only raises more serious and troubling questions about what he is hiding, and how much, from the government and more importantly, the citizens of West Virginia," Arnold said. "The rules regarding financial disclosure are clear and straightforward and Senator Manchin’s continued attempts to thwart these requirements is not only reckless and irresponsible but sadly serves to erode the public’s trust in our elected officials and system of government."

 

FACT filed a previous ethics complaint against Manchin asking for an investigation into the senator for "failing to comply" with personal financial disclosure rules and filing inaccurate reports dealing with his ownership interests in another LLC called AA Properties. Manchin's campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the complaint by press time.

 

https://freebeacon.com/politics/manchins-failure-report-700k-d-c-yacht-sparks-call-probe-watchdog/