Press

PRESS

February 22, 2011

Vern Buchanan Must Answer for His Actions

Congress, Corruption, Federal Agencies, Federal Election Commission (FEC), States, Florida, Press Releases, House Members, Vern Buchanan

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is asking questions about Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-FL) dubious campaign finances. Today, the FEC released three letters it sent to the Buchanan campaign asking for immediate clarification into the matters; he has a month to respond. After uncovering Rep. Buchanan’s creative campaign accounting practices, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the FEC in August of 2008; that complaint remains unresolved. CREW has twice named Rep. Buchanan as one of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress.

“The FEC isn’t messing around, clearly investigators have serious questions into just how Rep. Buchanan is running his campaign committee,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Just two months ago, the FEC sued one of the congressman’s biggest contributors. The clouds are starting to gather. Rep. Buchanan had better grab an umbrella; it looks like it’s about to rain.”

Today, the FEC released letters sent to the campaign regarding excessive contributions from individuals and PACs. The commission is also requiring the campaign to identify a donor who made an illegal contribution that was returned by the campaign committee as well as explain the status of several loans Rep. Buchanan made to his campaign committee. Two of those loans were supposed to have been paid off in the fall of 2010.

“Today’s actions show that at least someone at the FEC is taking notice of Congressman Buchanan’s egregious behavior,” said Ms. Sloan. “Whether or not the commission will actually act on the matter is another matter entirely. Don McGahn and the other Republican commissioners have made it perfectly clear that they are unwilling to enforce any campaign finance law violations, no matter how outrageous.”

Click here to read the three letters sent to Rep. Buchanan.

Read the FEC's Investigative Deposition of Sam Kazran here.

Click here to read about Rep. Buchanan’s antics in CREW’s Most Embarrassing Reelects: 2010 Edition.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact David Merchant at 202.408.5565 or dmerchant@citizensforethics.org