Following ECU’s press conference call on Wednesday with Rep. Bryce Bennett demanding that Matt Rosendale return the campaign contributions he gained from his elaborate money laundering scheme, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle issued their own editorial slamming Rosendale for his “skullduggery” in skirting the law and calling on him to return the money.
“Rosendale, who has thus far been silent on the issue, should return the money and use it for what it was initially intended – to pay expenses incurred in his previous congressional bid.”
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Rosendale’s gimmick doesn’t pass smell test
Montana U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale may not be violating the letter of the law with a bookkeeping gimmick that allows donors to exceed the individual cap on campaign contributions. But he definitely is violating the spirit of the law.
Rosendale recently used funds left over from a previous congressional race to pay back loans he made to his campaign instead of using the money to paid down the previous campaign’s debts. He then turned around and loaned the money back to his ongoing Senate campaign. The accounting move effectively raises the individual campaign donation limit from $5,400 to $8,000.
Rosendale, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Tester in the November election. This accounting sleight-of-hand doesn’t pass the smell test and is clearly a way to get around individual caps on donations under campaign finance law.
The integrity of our electoral processes has been under attack on a number of fronts – from Russian interference in our 2016 presidential election to infiltration of dark money from so-called “social welfare” groups that attack individual candidates under the guise of providing information on political issues.
All candidates should be committed to keeping our elections above board. We should expect them to set an example with integrity in all of their political behavior.
Tester’s Senate seat is being targeted by national interests. And between now and November, we can expect piles of out-of-state PAC money – both dark and otherwise – to come pouring into the state. These efforts will test the ability of Montana voters to separate truth from fiction.
Rosendale’s campaign accounting maneuver just adds another layer of skullduggery to the campaign. The amount of money involved – apparently a few tens of thousands of dollars in a race that will see millions spent before it’s over – isn’t worth the perception that this is nothing more than a ploy to skirt the law.
Rosendale, who has thus far been silent on the issue, should return the money and use it for what it was initially intended – to pay expenses incurred in his previous congressional bid.