Eugene DePasquale in legal trouble (AGAIN)
The DCCC’s prized recruit, Eugene DePasquale, is being dogged by legal issues once again after his Democratic primary opponent filed a campaign finance complaint detailing how DePasquale violated federal campaign finance laws.
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Pa. congressional candidate Tom Brier alleges campaign finance violation against primary rival, Eugene DePasquale
PennLive
Charles Thompson
4/25/2020
After weeks of relative dormancy brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic primary race for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District sparked back to life Friday when candidate Tom Brier charged his rival, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, with violating federal campaign finance laws.
Brier, in a late Friday filing, charged that DePasquale improperly got his congressional race off to a running start last year with funds originally donated to DePasquale’s past runs for state office. Federal law expressly bars candidates from transferring or using state-level campaign funds for federal races, in part because it could be used to circumvent often-stricter federal rules on the size and source of donations.
DePasquale, according to Brier’s complaint, did not overtly transfer the funds.
But DePasquale did use the state funds, the Hershey attorney argued, to essentially give his campaign a lengthy “soft opening” in the months before DePasquale made his congressional run official last summer.
DePasquale’s campaign reacted sharply to Brier’s allegation Saturday morning.
“This is clearly a baseless attack from a frustrated politician who is struggling to gain traction in this primary, the details of which the Brier campaign sent to the press without even bothering to send us directly. It’s incredibly disappointing that Tom Brier would stoop to this politically-motivated attack during this pandemic, while Eugene is focused on helping our community through this crisis,” said campaign manager Rachele Fortier.
Brier’s allegation is built, in large part, on an October 2019 state campaign finance report that shows between March and May of last year DePasquale’s accounts reported spending more than $113,000 to various political and media consultants.
Some of that spending occurred just prior to and during DePasquale’’s purchase of a series of issue-oriented Facebook advertisements in April and May 2019 that both featured the Auditor General and served as a way for his political operation to identify potential supporters. In addition to the ad buys, Brier alleges the spending covered video production services, Web site development and opposition research.
Brier’s complaint charges that the fact pattern – including that DePasquale was term-limited from seeking another term in his current office and had apparently discontinued his old campaign Web site by March 2019 – suggest DePasquale was using the state funding to give his at-the-time-unannounced federal campaign a running start. The complaint also alleges he should have filed federal statements of candidacy months earlier than he actually did.
Brier’s attorney, Scott Thomas, asks the Federal Election Commission to, at a minimum, “mandate repayment of misappropriated funds totaling at least $113,050, and secure an agreement from DePasquale and his committees not to repeat any of the foregoing transgressions of the law.”
After reviewing the essence of Brier’s complaints, Fortier, speaking for DePasquale Saturday, added:
“As is completely normal, Eugene has a state campaign fund which can be used in a wide variety of ways. Through the winter and spring of 2019, Eugene had not made any decision on running for Congress and was considering running for other offices, including at the state level. The timeline given by his opponent creates a false narrative. Since his decision and announcement to run for Congress, the federal committee has paid the state committee thousands of dollars to legally purchase materials that are relevant to the congressional campaign, to eliminate any concern about utilizing state campaign assets.”
Fortier said those purchases covered items like donor lists and political research material, but also services that Brier has referenced in his complaint. That could not be independently corroborated for this report.
It is true that since his 2016 re-election as Auditor General, DePasquale had been on a short list of Democrats considered viable candidates to try to succeed Gov. Tom Wolf in 2022. There is also some precedent for past auditor generals to move from that seat to other state row offices, as current U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. did in 2004 when he jumped from auditor general to treasurer.
At the present time, however, both other state row offices are already held by first-term Democrats.
Christopher Nicholas, a veteran Republican political consultant, noted Friday the FEC does typically permit “testing the water” type expenditures from other sources as a precursor to federal campaigns. But Nicholas added that in his experience that’s usually limited to activities like political polling.
The FEC, on its Website, says it reviews complaints on a case-by-case basis. If the commission finds that a violation occurred, possible outcomes can range from a letter reiterating compliance obligations to fines.
It seems unlikely that Brier’s compliant, if challenged by DePasquale, will be resolved before the June 2 primary election. For one thing, the FEC currently lacks a quorum to vote on enforcement matters.
.Both Democrats are vying for the right to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County, for the state’s 10th Congressional District seat this fall. Perry is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.
DePasquale, who served in the state House of Representatives from York before becoming Auditor General in 2012, is the favorite among most members of the local Democratic Party establishment, and he has rolled up a significant fundraising lead over Brier in recent months.
But Brier, a 28-year-old attorney from Derry Township who is in his first run for political office, has shown repeatedly that he is not afraid to push DePasquale. Brier runs a little more to the progressive side of Democratic thinking on some issues, and he has based a lot of his campaign on finding votes among younger and other first-time voters.
Latest federal filings show the Auditor General had raised $1.012 million as of March 31, and has $656,924 on hand. Brier has reported raising $468,040, with $145,419 on hand.
Andrew Bellis, a spokesman for the Brier camp, said Friday that the campaign finance issue came to their attention this winter when they reviewed DePasquale’s last state finance report.
“The quarantine then gave us the time to review the issue in-depth,” Bellis said.
“FEC rules are specifically designed to create an equal playing field in federal elections. Eugene’s decision to spend more than $100,000 unlawfully is like a professional athlete taking steroids – he gained an unfair competitive advantage over everyone who followed the rules,” Bellis continued. “But more importantly, Tom faces an injury as a voter in the District. Federal election laws are in place so voters can account for the sources and spending of campaign funds. By flouting those rules, Eugene violated the public’s trust.”
The race in the 10th District, which covers all of Dauphin County, the eastern half of Cumberland County, and the northern half of York County, is listed by national analysts as one of the hottest Congressional contests in the country in the 2020 cycle, in part because of the spirited battle political newcomer George Scott gave Perry in 2018.