New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, an outspoken advocate of campaign-finance reform, has been hit with one of the biggest fines ever imposed on a member of Congress by the Federal Election Commission — for violating campaign-finance laws.
The FEC ruling, handed down in March, ordered Schumer's 1998 senatorial campaign to pay a civil penalty of $130,000. The campaign was also ordered to return $120,455 in illegal contributions, bringing the total of fines and restitution to slightly more than a quarter-million dollars. The campaign paid the sum in April.
According to FEC records, only three cases involving federal candidates have resulted in higher fines than the one levied on Schumer's campaign. No senatorial candidate has ever been so severely penalized. |
Nancy Pelosi's Ethics Questioned
In what pundits are calling a quid pro quo for her hard line on the ethics of House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is under fire for an adviser’s nine-day, $4,475 junket to Spain and Germany last April, a trip primarily paid for by a nonprofit transportation-research organization Pelosi had helped to secure Federal Transit Administration monies, according to a report in the Washington Times. |
March 9, 2005 -- A wealthy businessman who hosted a fraudulent fund-raiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pleaded guilty yesterday to an unrelated federal securities fraud scheme, officials said.
Peter Paul, a potential key witness in the fund-raising case, faces 10 years in jail for stock fraud after deceiving investors who put money into his Stan Lee Media company, a business developed to promote characters from Marvel Comics group.
Despite his pending jail time, Paul vowed to testify against Clinton's former finance director, who was indicted for lying to authorities about the cost of a party Paul hosted for Clinton.
David Rosen, a Chicago entrepreneur who was finance director of Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign, was charged with filing false reports to the Federal Elections Commission to cover up the costs of an Aug. 12, 2000 concert and dinner. |