Not Kosher: Rep. Cantor Accepts Illegal Campaign Contribution
Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases
Washington, DC: Politicians get free lunches all the time. But when it's a $500-a-plate fundraiser, they are required by law to report it to the Federal Election Commission something that Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has failed to do, according to the current edition of the Forward.
In what experts say may be a violation of campaign finance laws, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, one of the top-ranking Republicans in the House, has failed to report a debt to a kosher restaurant, reports the Forward. The restaurant, Stacks Deli, owned by a major Washington lobbyist, was the site of a $500-a-plate fundraiser organized for Cantor last January, but federal records show no billing for the dinner's expenses, nor any notation of the services as an in-kind contribution, a donation of goods offered for free or at less than the usual charge. According to the Forward article, Cantor campaign consultant Ray Allen ...conceded that the lateness of the record-keeping may have violated FEC rules, but he said, "It's a paperwork issue."
Commenting on the Forward story, National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman said, "This type of flagrant violation of campaign rules by the only Jewish Republican in the U.S. House is an embarrassment to the Jewish community. Mr. Cantor has been held up by the GOP as the leader of Jewish outreach and quite frankly as the representative and liaison of the Republican Party to the Jewish community. Because of this, Mr. Cantor has a unique obligation to represent the community in a positive light, and this requires scrupulous adherence to campaign laws. While every elected official has the responsibility to act in an ethical and proper manner, Mr. Cantor has a special responsibility, given his platform and high visibility. And in this case, by accepting an illegal corporate campaign contribution, Mr. Cantor did not live up to that responsibility."
"The embarrassment in this incident is only compounded when Mr. Cantor's campaign consultant insists that such a serious violation is only a 'paperwork issue.' This attitude among some lawmakers that they may be above the law or that such campaign improprieties are just 'paperwork issues' is precisely why so many Americans hold politicians in such low regard."
"It was the responsibility of Mr. Cantor's campaign to obtain the invoice and report such debts to the FEC within 60 days, and yet there was no mention of this in his April 15th campaign filing a filing dated some 82 days after Mr. Cantor's fundraiser. In fact, no acknowledgement of this failure was made until Mr. Cantor's campaign was contacted for this story in the Forward almost five months after the date of the original fundraiser.
"Mr.Cantor, this is not amateur hour. If you want to assume the mantle of leadership, you must uphold not only your own good name, but the reputation of the community as well."
