Oz said he wouldn’t take corporate PAC money, then took thousands from them
A bombshell new report from The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that Mehmet Oz broke his pledge to never take money from corporate PACs. Despite telling Pennsylvanians that he would never take corporate PAC money, Oz’s most recent campaign finance filing showed that he took tens of thousands of dollars from corporations, including Big Oil and Gas companies.
“Mehmet Oz is no different than other lying politicians willing to do anything for campaign cash. He lied about not taking corporate PAC money because he wants to go to Washington to fight for himself and his wealthy allies–and screw over Pennsylvania families,” said End Citizens United spokesperson Tina Olechowski. “That’s why we need to elect John Fetterman, who actually hasn’t taken any corporate PAC money. He will stand up to greedy corporations to lower costs for working Pennsylvanians.”
Read more from The Philadelphia Inquirer below:
Mehmet Oz said he wouldn’t take corporate PAC money. Then he did.
Jonathan Tamari
10/20/22
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When Mehmet Oz start[ed] running for Senate in Pennsylvania, he made a promise: He wouldn’t accept “one dime” from corporate political committees.
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“For too long, Washington’s been run by special interests and corporate donors,” Oz said in a video posted on Twitter in January. “I’m making this pledge: I will not take one dime of corporate PAC money, not one dollar. I cannot be bought.”
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Oz’s latest fund-raising report shows at least eight donations from political committees registered as corporate PACs with the Federal Elections Commission.
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Some of them include the political arms of major businesses. One $5,000 donation came from the PAC affiliated with Energy Transfer, a Dallas pipeline company that in 2012 purchased Sunoco LP and now owns the Mariner East pipeline that crosses Pennsylvania, among other energy interests. A $2,500 donation is from the PAC associated with Alliance Coal, part of Alliance Resource Partners, a coal, oil, and gas outfit based in Tulsa, Okla. Oz has been an outspoken advocate for increased natural gas drilling and energy production.
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Other contributions came from the political committees tied to two of Pennsylvania’s most prominent law firms — Cozen O’Connorand Duane Morris — and Bloomin’ Brands, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse.
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In all, the eight corporate PACs gave Oz $23,500, public disclosures show.
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“Dr. Oz will lie to anyone about literally anything if it means helping himself because this fraud has no core values,” said Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello. “Oz pocketed over 200,000 dimes worth of corporate PAC money last quarter because he’s incapable of being honest and bought and paid for by special interests.”
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An Oz spokesperson, Brittany Yanick, said the campaign was already planning to refund the $2,500 donation from Bloomin’ Brands. (That would show up on the public disclosures due later this month.)
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And she argued that law firms may register their political committees as corporate PACs for liability reasons.
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But she didn’t address the donations from other companies’ PACs, including those of Energy Transfer, Alliance Resource Partners, or Essential Utilities, a Bryn Mawr-based utilities corporation.
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The two other corporate PAC donors are those associated with the Pennsylvania law firm Capozzi Adler and the Alabama Farmers Federation, a trade group.
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Businesses aren’t allowed to donate directly to candidates, but corporate PACs give them a workaround. Such PACs can collect donations from executives and other high-level employees and then contribute to campaigns, within federal limits. The PACs can’t use the corporate funds to pay for donations, but the companies can pay for PAC administrative costs, such as a treasurer or filing expenses.
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Fetterman raised more than $22 million in the same period, about half of it coming from people who gave less than $200 total. He had $4.2 million remaining as of Sept. 30, and has vowed not to take corporate PAC money.
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