Have you noticed that when a Federal Election Commission complaint against a Republican presidential candidate is made, the press jump on it like a child on presents beneath a tree on Christmas morning?
Yet, when someone files an FEC complaint against Hillary Clinton, you're more likely to see a news item featuring a global warming skeptic talking about how Al Gore is lying to the public about climate change than anything related to the former first lady's seemingly incessant campaign finance indiscretions.
For example, did you hear about this complaint filed on Halloween against she who will be President if the press have their way:
October 31, 2007
Office of General Counsel
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20463Dear Counsel:
We write to file a complaint against the Hillary Clinton for President Committee for violation of Federal Election Law under the Commission's jurisdiction.
It is clear from recent news accounts that the campaign and its donors and fundraisers have violated 2 USC 441f, the provision of law that prohibits campaign contributions in the name of another, and that some donors may have violated 2 USC 441e which prohibits donations by foreign nationals without permanent resident status.
A recent Los Angeles Times article, [available here], indicates that several reported donors to the Clinton campaign are non-existent persons, illegal immigrants, or were reimbursed by others for contributions. The article documents several instances in which reported donors could not be found, even by those living at the same address reported in the campaign's FEC filing.
The complaint then documented a number of campaign finance violations by the former first lady concluding:
In addition to the aforementioned evidence, it is worth noting that the Hillary Clinton for President Committee has clearly decided to take no action to remedy these violations. According to the New York Post, "The Clinton campaign dismissed the L.A. Times story as derogatory to Chinese-Americans."
Accordingly, the Clinton campaign's disinterest in and failure to remedy these violations along with the potential scope of the abuse indicates that that the Commission should investigate and take action against those responsible for violation of the law.
The information in this complaint is based upon information and belief, and not on our personal knowledge.
Respectfully,
Matthew Margolis & Mark Noonan
Hadn't heard anything about this yet? Think this really isn't newsworthy given that it's just a couple of bloggers filing the complaint?
Well, then why did the Associated Press on August 20 report the liberal blogger that filed an FEC complaint against Fred Thompson who, at the time, hadn't even announced his candidacy yet:
A liberal blogger has filed a federal complaint against former Sen. Fred Thompson, the actor and unannounced Republican candidate for president, accusing him of violating election laws as he ponders his entry into the race.
The blogger, Lane Hudson, submitted his complaint to the Federal Election Commission on Monday saying Thompson has raised far more money than he needs to explore whether to run for president.
The Washington Post also reported this the following day. So did MSNBC and the Chicago Tribune.
In fact, ABC's "Good Morning America" did a segment including this blogger's complaint on August 22.
With that in mind, it seems reasonable to expect these conservative bloggers' FEC complaint against Hillary get equal time, doesn't it?
Yes, that's a rhetorical question.
