By Robert Gehl 1 Comment
When you give money to the Democratic National Committee, you get more than the smug satisfaction that you’re helping to elect a truly horrible person, you also might get a cushy political appointment.
This is wildly illegal – promising a government job or an appointment in exchange for a contribution – but it seems that’s precisely what the DNC was doing.
Among the 20,000-plus emails released by WikiLeaks was an e-mail chain that details party officials planning with donors and fundraisers to hand out appointments to federal boards and commissions.
The federal law is 18 U.S. Code Chapter 29, §600 and it makes it a felony, punishable by up to a year in prison, to:
Speaking with The Daily Caller, Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center said that it sure seems like the DNC broke the law.“directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”
“The disclosed DNC emails sure look like the potential Clinton Administration has intertwined the appointments to federal government boards and commissions with the political and fund raising operations of the Democratic Party,” Boehm said. “That is unethical, if not illegal.”
A spreadsheet attacked to the emails contains 23 names of corporate executives who are big fundraisers, or “bundlers,” to the party and various liberal causes. Next to the names is another column that seems to indicate the positions the fundraiser is looking for. Next to David Shapira’s name is “USPS.”
In the e-mail chain, the DNC’s national finance director, Jordan Kaplan, types “Last call for boards and commissions,” telling recipients to find big-ticket donors who might get an appointment.
“If you have someone, send to [DNC finance chief of staff Scott] Comer – full name, city, state, email and phone number. Send as many as you want, just don’t know how many people will get to.”
Boehm said all of this looks exactly like a quid pro quo.The email confused at least one official involved in the exchange.
“Boards and commissions? Sorry, I’m lost,” wrote Jordan Vaughn, the national finance director for the DNC’s African American Leadership Council.
Comer explained: “Any folks who you’d like to be considered to be on the board of (for example) USPS, NEA, NEH. Basically anyone who has a niche interest and might like to serve on the board of one of these orgs.”
“I should say, though, that the likelihood of landing a spot on ones as prestigious as NEA/USPS is unlikely,” Comer added, referring to the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Postal Service.
“It’s much more likely they’ll get something like ‘President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History.’ (no shade to women) But when you submit your names, we don’t need specific designations,” he continued.
“Having participated in the boards and commissions work for President-elect Reagan, I know there’s no need to involve partisans months before the election,” he told The Daily Caller. “These appointments are made on a staggered basis so there’s no rush.”
“As with so much associated with the Clinton operations, there is an appearance that these appointments have been pressed into service as a device to raise funds.”
http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/us/b ... -usc-ch-29