Boom! More Breaking: More Evidence of Illegal 'Cash for Vote' Operation by Cochran Campaign Piles Up
Got News | 7/7/14 | Charles C. Johnson
Cochran campaign staffer Amanda Shook was illegally reimbursed for over $40,000 cash in walking around money during the Republican primary, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. The payments are described as "Reimbursed Expenses - Campaign Walkers." Regulation 11 CFR 116.5 expressly defines funds advanced by campaign staff for any reason other than travel or subsistence as a loan. It is illegal under FEC rules to loan money to a campaign in excess of the contribution limit of $2,600. "f your loan exceeds the limits, it is an illegal contribution, even if it is later repaid in full," notes the FEC website.
Shook was previously alleged to be one of the sources of street cash in an alleged vote-buying operation in a Gotnews.com report from the Reverend Stevie Fielder.
Shook is Director of Operations for the Thad Cochran campaign, where she works for campaign manager Kirk Sims, who was also mentioned by Fielder as someone he worked with on the Cochran campaign. Shook previously worked for Sims in the office of Governor Phil Bryant, where Sims was the governor's chief of staff and Shook was his scheduler. Sims is U.S. Senator Roger Wicker's son-in-law.
FEC reports list seven payments by Citizens for Cochran, the candidate's official campaign committee, to Shook totaling $52,625. The bulk of these payments describe the purpose of the disbursement as "Reimbursed Expenses - Campaign Walkers." It is unclear how 27 year-old Shook acquired such large sums of cash for the initial outlays. Requests for comment from Shook went unanswered at the time of this writing.