A government watchdog group is urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate a serious potential violation of campaign finance law, first reported by The Daily Beast, from failed Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
On Friday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a formal complaint with the FEC concerning Walker and his personal company, HR Talent LLC.
Emails published by The Daily Beast on Wednesday showed Walker soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a personal friend, the billionaire businessman Dennis Washington, for his companyânot his campaign.
In total, Walker asked a Washington representative to wire him $535,200 for HR Talent LLC, according to the emails, which also indicated Washingtonâs camp believed the money was for political purposes.
In their complaint, CREW asked the FEC to âimpose sanctions appropriate to these violations, and take such further action as may be appropriate, including referring this matter to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution should the investigation reveal that criminal laws were violated.â
A spokesperson for Washingtonâs company, Washington Corporations, confirmed on Thursday the money was sent to a ânon-political account,â adding that they asked for a refund as soon as they realized it wasnât for Walkerâs Senate campaign in Georgia.
The representative did not answer any further questions from The Daily Beast, including when the refund took place. Washingtonâs company didnât respond to a request for comment until a day after the original story.
According to CREWâs complaint, a refund doesnât take away from the seriousness of the potential violation, particularly because Walkerâs emails indicated his âapparent familiarity with the legal limits.â
âMr. Walkerâs violation was knowing and willful,â the complaint alleges.
Campaign finance experts quoted in The Daily Beastâs initial report were bewildered by the findings, ranking it among the most flagrant campaign finance scandals in modern U.S. history.
Saurav Ghosh, director of federal reform at Campaign Legal Center, called it âjaw-dropping.â Jordan Libowitz, communications director at CREW, said if Walker âused the campaign to funnel money into his own business, thatâs one of the biggest campaign finance crimes Iâve ever heard of.â
Another campaign finance lawyer, Brendan Fischer, called Walkerâs move âstunning and, to my knowledge, without parallel in recent history.â
Citing The Daily Beastâs reporting, CREW explains that the $535,200 sum solicited by Walker âfar exceeds the statutory limits on contributions to this joint fundraising committee,â even if it was understood to be split among Washington and members of his family.
The complaint also includes an email from a redacted account informing Walker and Washington that the funds âcannot legally be used for political purposes.â Federal contribution limits during the 2022 midterms were set at $2,900 per person for campaigns and $5,000 in a year for political committees.
The CREW complaint goes further to allege the emails between Washingtonâs agent and Walker confirm âthat the purpose of these transfers was to influence federal election laws,â and that the matter should be referred to the Department of Justice if any criminal laws were violated.
Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance specialist and deputy executive director at the Fundersâ Committee for Civic Participation, suggested Walkerâs activity amounts to a âcriminal violation,â calling the scandal âextraordinary and unprecedented in my 25 years of campaign finance watchdog work.â
âThereâs no legal way that this could have played out.â
This post originally appeared on and written by:
Jake Lahut
The Daily Beast 2023-05-05 15:25:00