OOPS, I Did It Again: FEC Tells McSally Campaign Its “Best Compliance Team” Still Not Cutting It

After putting together what her spokeswoman said was “the best compliance team in the country”, the Federal Election Commission is telling Rep. Martha McSally that she is STILL not complying with reporting laws. The most recent campaign reports demonstrate that more than 20% of the contributions received this year for the Senate campaign do not properly indicate the employers or occupations of the donor.*

Martha McSally’s House campaign committee had significant problems with complying with these basic Federal Election Commission requirements, and were the subject of a long-running complaint that led to a thorough audit of the campaign’s 2014 election cycle finances. It was concluded earlier this year with findings that more than $600,000 of contributions were not properly identified. (Other findings were that the Committee had overstated its receipts by $94,000, that more than $300,000 was collected above and beyond contribution limits, that timely 48-hour reports were not filed for $100,000 of contributions, and that $32,000 of political committee contributions were not properly itemized.

The FEC adopted the audit findings and indicated that future enforcement actions may be taken. McSally for Senate spokesperson Torunn Sinclair told the Arizona Republic that “we built the best compliance team in the county, compiled of former FEC auditors, accountants and smart legal minds to address any issues and help us stay in compliance.”

That was this past May. However, at that very moment, the campaign was taking

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The Arizona Republic is failing its readers

There was a time back in the day when The Arizona Republic used to report on state legislative races, providing readers with profiles of the candidates and their positions on the issues. It was an invaluable resource that informed voters. But after massive layoffs in recent years, The Republic apparently no longer has the resources to do this type of reporting so you are on your own. So much for an informed electorate today.

But The Republic does apparently have the resources to assign reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez to do pearl clutching stories based upon press releases from the Martha McSally campaign attacking Kyrsten Sinema for things that she – and many others by the way – said years ago.

This is news?

Here are just two examples. First, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reported, Kyrsten Sinema in 2011: ‘There’s something wrong with the people in public office in Arizona’:

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema seven years ago ridiculed as “crazy” the Republican elected officials leading the state at the time, and the anti-illegal immigration legislation that began in Arizona and was being replicated in state Capitols across the nation.

Sinema, then a state senator and now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, in a 2011 speech told the Texas Stonewall Democrats that all Republicans in Arizona were “crazy” and could not be distinguished from the conservative “tea party” activists whose influence helped lead to legislation that she and others deemed harmful to Arizona.

The video of Sinema’s 2011 remarks resurfaced Thursday on social media and was recirculated by allies of Sinema’s Republican Senate opponent, Rep. Martha McSally.

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