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GOP asks for probe of Baucus donation
By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau
HELENA - The Montana Republican Party asked federal elections officials Wednesday to investigate a $1,900 in-kind donation that Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus received from an associate of indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Democrats fired back, charging that the GOP complaint was an attempt to deflect attention from Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, who is under scrutiny for actions benefiting Abramoff clients while receiving $150,000 in contributions.
Chuck Denowh, executive director of the Montana Republican Party, sent a letter Wednesday to the Federal Election Commission asking the group to investigate a Baucus fundraiser in March 2001 at a skybox in the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The fundraiser, disclosed this week, was hosted by Abramoff associate Ronald Platt, then a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig, where Abramoff also worked.
Platt spent $1,892 hosting the fundraiser, which should have been reported as an in-kind donation, the Republican letter said. In addition, Platt spent almost $900 more than the $1,000 donation limit in place at the time.
"We'd like to know why Baucus didn't report this in the first place," Denowh said. "There's probably a reason he didn't report it."
Baucus already has donated the $1,892, along with about $17,000 he received from Abramoff's associates, to Montana tribal colleges. Baucus will make a note of the donation in his December campaign finance report, said Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser.
Kaiser said the mistake was a clerical error and released a note from Platt dated Dec. 15 in which the lobbyist said he thought his co-workers were taking care of the required documentation with the fundraiser.
"I am sorry for any confusion this has caused," Platt's letter says.
Kaiser said the donation did exceed the $1,000 cap in place at the time. Baucus will return $892.62 to Platt, he said. Baucus' office did not know about the excessive donation until receiving Platt's note, he said.
Burns is one of four lawmakers who The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have reported are involved in a Justice Department probe into whether Abramoff directed and gave donations to lawmakers in exchange for political favors.
Burns received more money than any other lawmaker from Abramoff, his associates and clients - an estimated $150,000 between 1999 and 2004, a Washington Post tally shows.
Burns said last week he was returning the money, challenging other lawmakers and political parties to do the same. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., later returned $19,900 in Abramoff-related donations, Baucus donated just shy of $18,900 to Montana's tribal colleges, and the Montana Democratic Party donated $5,000 that it received to American Indian charities in Montana.
The Montana Republican Party received no Abramoff-related donations.
Along with other lawmakers, Burns has come under scrutiny for supporting positions favored by Abramoff clients around the time he received donations from the lobbyist, his co-workers and clients.
"This (GOP complaint) is about the most outlandish thing we've ever heard," said Kaiser, adding that Baucus has not been linked to the Abramoff investigation.
Denowh said the GOP complaint was valid: Baucus didn't disclose a donation that violated federal limits.
Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the Montana Democratic Party, called the letter "hypocritical" and a "bogus" attempt to distract from Burns and his connections to Abramoff.
By JENNIFER McKEE
Gazette State Bureau
HELENA - The Montana Republican Party asked federal elections officials Wednesday to investigate a $1,900 in-kind donation that Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus received from an associate of indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Democrats fired back, charging that the GOP complaint was an attempt to deflect attention from Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, who is under scrutiny for actions benefiting Abramoff clients while receiving $150,000 in contributions.
Chuck Denowh, executive director of the Montana Republican Party, sent a letter Wednesday to the Federal Election Commission asking the group to investigate a Baucus fundraiser in March 2001 at a skybox in the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The fundraiser, disclosed this week, was hosted by Abramoff associate Ronald Platt, then a lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig, where Abramoff also worked.
Platt spent $1,892 hosting the fundraiser, which should have been reported as an in-kind donation, the Republican letter said. In addition, Platt spent almost $900 more than the $1,000 donation limit in place at the time.
"We'd like to know why Baucus didn't report this in the first place," Denowh said. "There's probably a reason he didn't report it."
Baucus already has donated the $1,892, along with about $17,000 he received from Abramoff's associates, to Montana tribal colleges. Baucus will make a note of the donation in his December campaign finance report, said Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser.
Kaiser said the mistake was a clerical error and released a note from Platt dated Dec. 15 in which the lobbyist said he thought his co-workers were taking care of the required documentation with the fundraiser.
"I am sorry for any confusion this has caused," Platt's letter says.
Kaiser said the donation did exceed the $1,000 cap in place at the time. Baucus will return $892.62 to Platt, he said. Baucus' office did not know about the excessive donation until receiving Platt's note, he said.
Burns is one of four lawmakers who The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have reported are involved in a Justice Department probe into whether Abramoff directed and gave donations to lawmakers in exchange for political favors.
Burns received more money than any other lawmaker from Abramoff, his associates and clients - an estimated $150,000 between 1999 and 2004, a Washington Post tally shows.
Burns said last week he was returning the money, challenging other lawmakers and political parties to do the same. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., later returned $19,900 in Abramoff-related donations, Baucus donated just shy of $18,900 to Montana's tribal colleges, and the Montana Democratic Party donated $5,000 that it received to American Indian charities in Montana.
The Montana Republican Party received no Abramoff-related donations.
Along with other lawmakers, Burns has come under scrutiny for supporting positions favored by Abramoff clients around the time he received donations from the lobbyist, his co-workers and clients.
"This (GOP complaint) is about the most outlandish thing we've ever heard," said Kaiser, adding that Baucus has not been linked to the Abramoff investigation.
Denowh said the GOP complaint was valid: Baucus didn't disclose a donation that violated federal limits.
Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the Montana Democratic Party, called the letter "hypocritical" and a "bogus" attempt to distract from Burns and his connections to Abramoff.
