By Mark K. Matthews, Orlando Sentinel, August 10, 2006
11 Aug 2006 // WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission is auditing Sen. Mel Martinez's 2004 campaign, which has been trying to untangle its finances ever since his victory over Democrat Betty Castor.
Neither the FEC nor Martinez would discuss the scope of the audit, but letters from the agency to his campaign focus mostly on the amount of debt Martinez reported during and after his Senate campaign.
A formal audit has been going on for more than a year - although inquiries from the FEC began in 2004.
In December of that year, a month after his victory, Martinez reported his $12 million campaign had about $115,000 in debt.
But the campaign revised that number in the past month by a half-million dollars, according to FEC records. The figure should have been $685,000 in election debt, according to the campaign's most recent FEC filing.
Election records after the December 2004 filing show other instances in which the Martinez campaign underreported its debt.
Those records show that FEC sent Martinez at least 20 letters asking him to clarify campaign reports from 2004-06.
In some of the letters, the agency also informed the campaign that donors appeared to have given Martinez more money than allowed under federal law.
The Republican senator said he was cooperating with the FEC. The reporting mistakes, Martinez said, came about because of the flood of financial support he received in the race.
"During my 2004 campaign over $12 million was raised and spent within 10 months. We were overwhelmed by our success, and I take full responsibility that the 2004 FEC filing from this time was not at the level it needed to be."
Martinez acknowledged the FEC audit after the Orlando Sentinel discovered that his campaign had spent at least $295,000 on accounting and attorney's fees since the 2004 election.
Both his accountant, from Tampa, Fla.-based Robert Watkins & Co., and his attorney, from the Washington law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, said their services were used to correct the mistakes.
Over the two-year period, the campaign has been responding to the FEC by fixing its books or paying down on debt. Its latest report shows $401,000 on hand and a $10,000 debt.
The campaign also brought on a new treasurer, Nancy Watkins, during that time. She took over the position last summer from Charles Puckett, who served as treasurer during the race.
It was unclear Friday why Puckett left. He could not be reached for comment after repeated calls to his office.
At the end of 2005, the FEC had 22 congressional audits pending, including 16 U.S. House campaigns and six on the Senate side.
FEC officials said audits are not randomly chosen and can be triggered by any number of factors, including accounting errors.
Paul Ryan, who follows FEC issues for the Campaign Legal Center, said it would be "preliminary to speculate" about the audit.
"The FEC in its regular course of business audits campaigns and candidates from across the country," said Ryan, whose nonpartisan group advocates election and lobbying reform.
Donald Tobin, who tracks tax and campaign law at Ohio State University's law school, echoed Ryan and said the complexity of election regulations often forces candidates to hire accountants and lawyers to straighten out their books.
"I think election law has gotten to the point that it is as complicated, or more complicated, than the tax code. And that's saying something," he said.
This isn't the first time the Martinez campaign has been challenged. On Monday, a watchdog group filed an election complaint against the senator, stemming from a fund-raiser in Miami two years ago.
In 2004, the same group questioned a luncheon hosted by an anti-Castro group, accusing the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC of improperly funding Martinez's Senate campaign. The two sides settled in 2005.
On Friday, Martinez promised to continue working with the FEC.
"For more than a year, I have been cooperating in every way possible with the FEC and look forward to the successful conclusion of this issue," he said.