For Immediate Release
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Contact: Adam Bozzi, [email protected]
Senator Roy Blunt’s cozy relationship with lobbyists just got cozier.
Over the years, Gregg Hartley, lobbyist and former chief of staff to Blunt, has lobbied Congress on dozens of issues and, along with his wife, has given Blunt tens of thousands of dollars for his campaigns.
Now, Hartley, who has been described as Blunt’s alter ego, is doubling down with his Super PAC to help keep Blunt in office. The Super PAC is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on false attack ads to bail out Blunt’s floundering campaign.
Hartley, it turns out, is also linked to Roy Blunt’s leadership PAC that has funded exclusive weekend getaways at a South Carolina resort, ringing further conflict of interest alarms. Hartley is among the lobbyists who have funded the PAC.
“Roy Blunt is a walking conflict of interest,” Tiffany Muller, End Citizens United Executive Director, said. “He’s spent years cozying up to lobbyists and protecting their interests, at the expense of Missouri families. He’s failed in his job as chairman of the Rules Committee to reform campaign finance and lobbying laws and voted to block progress at every opportunity. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that lobbyists are returning the favor – but the lengths that lobbyists are willing to go to try to save this failing campaign are striking. It’s Washington as usual, at its worst.”
Earlier this week, End Citizens United launched a new ad exposing Blunt’s weekend escapes to a swanky South Carolina beach resort that racked up almost half a million dollars in expenses. Those expenses were covered by his special interest- and lobbyist-funded PAC.
End Citizens United, a grassroots funded political action committee (PAC), was established in March 2015 to counter the disastrous effects of Citizens United and reform our campaign finance system. To date, more than 1.5 million grassroots members from every state and territory have taken action to support End Citizens United.
Read more on ECU from the San Francisco