Daily Beast: Embattled GOP Senator Says a Staffer Messed Up His Campaign Reports and Vanished. We Found Him in Minutes.
Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at campaign watchdog Common Cause, said the allegations cover “massive violations,” including breaking a law more than 100 years old.
“Federal law prohibits candidates from receiving contributions from corporations. This law has been on the books for more than a century for the purpose of preventing politicians from being in the pocket of big corporations,” Ryan told The Daily Beast. The audit, he said, “shows his campaign likely committed massive violations of federal law through receipt of more than $8.5 million in corporate contributions.”
Ryan explained that candidates can borrow money from financial institutions in the ordinary course of business and on standard lending terms. However, he said, auditors discovered more than $7 million in unsecured loans—without Braun putting up “the typically required collateral to assure the loans would be repaid.”
As for the $1.5 million from Braun’s own company, Ryan said the loan exemplifies “special treatment from financial corporations” that “undermines the integrity of our campaign finance laws.”
“Senator Braun and the corporate lenders should be held accountable for any violations,” Ryan added.