Group files election complaint against Musgrave

Claims election campaign failed to ID donors

16 Feb 2007 // A Washington, D.C. group alleged today that Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's election campaign "repeatedly and systematically" failed to identify donors during last year's campaign.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission, citing several letters from the FEC that asked Musgrave's election campaign to supply some donor names and amend campaign finance reports to include large "last minute" contributions worth more than $18,000.

Those contributions appeared in later finance reports but weren't reported during the 48-hour cycles required by the FEC as elections draw near.

The group, known as CREW, also claims Musgrave's campaign missed deadlines to amend reports, as required by the FEC. Musgrave beat Democrat Angie Paccione and Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness in November to win a third term in the 4th Congressional District, which includes Fort Collins.

CREW bills itself as a nonpartisan government watchdog, though reports last summer said the group was funded heavily by the Democracy Alliance, a group of wealthy donors that includes Colorado software millionaire Tim Gill.

Gill contributed to a 527 political group that worked to defeat Musgrave last year.

CREW also filed complaints against Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, and Rep. Lincoln Diaz Balart, a Florida Republican.

In a letter to the FEC, Musgrave's campaign said it works hard get donor information but that a "data error" caused only the first initial of some donors to be reported. The campaign also said some contributions weren't included on 48-hour reports because they were simply "overlooked."

In the letter, the campaign said it would review its reporting process to make sure those errors didn't happen again.