Why Ami Bera Doesn’t Want You To Take Him At His Word

The Sacramento Bee’s newest revelations about the Bera family’s sophisticated donor swapping scheme raises more questions about who knew what in the operation. Let’s take a look at where Ami Bera’s claims lead us when taken to their logical conclusion and you’ll see why Ami Bera doesn’t want you to take him at his word.

Claim:

 “This is someone who is new to politics (and) didn’t understand the trouble,” he said. “I assume he just thought he was trying to be helpful.” – Ami Bera, 5/14/2016

 Questions Raised:

• Ami Bera consistently claims his dad was new to politics and did not know or understand the nuances of campaign finance rules. If that’s true, who had the political savvy to arrange the complex and wide-ranging donor swapping scheme that brought in $240,000? Clearly Babulal Bera would not have had that acumen.
• If Babulal Bera was a political neophyte and could not have arranged the donor swaps, Ami Bera, his campaign staffers, or some combination of the whole team would have had to do the legwork. Has anyone asked Ami Bera if he personally arranged the swaps? Has anyone asked Bera’s 2010 campaign manager and finance director or his 2012 campaign manager and finance director who arranged the swaps?
• Thus far, neither Ami Bera nor any of his 2010 or 2012 staff have commented on who exactly arranged the donor swaps or on Babulal’s reimbursements. Is that because they are still under ongoing investigation and unable to comment on the campaigns?
• If Bera’s father was an uninformed bystander in the donor swapping scheme, how is it plausible that at the same time he unilaterally arranged a network of reimbursements totaling $270,000? Wouldn’t the individual(s) involved in arranging the donor swaps be the most likely to also have been assisting in arranging reimbursements?

Common Sense Conclusions:

• When Ami Bera’s claim that his father was ignorant of campaign finance rules is taken to its logical conclusion, it clearly implicates Bera and his staff. Babulal would not have had the knowledge or connections to carry out either the donor swaps or reimbursements that brought in more than a combined $500,000.
• Whoever arranged the swaps, be it Ami and/or staff, worked closely with every donor adult member of the Bera family, including Babulal. Logically, this person would have necessarily been involved in Babulal’s reimbursements by virtue of his political ignorance.
• The ongoing investigation and preponderance of evidence indicate that there is still much more to come in this saga.