From DailyKos: Colorado GOP 527 Cooking the Books

[LynneSin]

by em dash
Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 06:59:05 PM PDT

(An example of blogroots investigative journalism at its finest. Promoted by SusanG)

Posted by Jason Bane with additional reporting from Colorado Confidential reporters Wendy Norris, Nancy Watzman and Cara DeGette.

As this high-stakes political season enters its final weeks, one of the biggest and most influential political committees at work in Colorado appears to be playing fast and loose with the campaign finance rules. Are they cheating? An exclusive Colorado Confidential investigation of the Trailhead Group reveals questionable financial transactions that literally don't add up.

Over the course of several days, Colorado Confidential examined publicly available financial reports filed with the IRS by the Trailhead Group - a political committee created by some of Colorado's biggest Republican names - and found several transactions totaling $200,000. Contributions to other political committees that Trailhead claims in its IRS filings are not found on the recipient's books, and contributions from those committees back to Trailhead either don't match Trailhead's records or don't appear at all. And on one occasion, a contribution was made to an organization for which Colorado Confidential can find no record of existence.

Some of the heaviest hitters in Colorado Republican politics - including Gov. Bill Owens, former gubernatorial candidate Bruce Benson and former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Coors - created Trailhead Group as a means to help Republican candidates get elected to office in Colorado. High-profile donors give millions of dollars to Trailhead, making it one of the richest so-called "527 committees" in the entire country. These "527 committees" are named for the federal tax code under which they are required to file; they provide for unlimited contributions and are a convenient way to advocate for or against a campaign or candidate while avoiding state and federal contribution limits (for more background on 527s, see this story from the Center for Responsive Politics).

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Consider, for example, a $50,000 contribution that Trailhead reports making to the Colorado Leadership Fund - a separate 527 organization filed with the IRS - on April 21, 2006. Just two days later, Trailhead reports receiving a donation of $50,000 from the very same Colorado Leadership Fund (CLF). There is no rule prohibiting 527 organizations from giving money to each other, but the rules are clear that any contribution over $200 and any expenditure over $500 must be reported during the same federally-mandated reporting period.

A review of finance reports filed by CLF shows no record of either a contribution or an expenditure involving Trailhead. Only Trailhead claims both a contribution and expenditure of $50,000.

Way more at the link - way way more including links to all the researched papertrails of this corruption.

[rockymountaindem]

1. I'm not surprised

Even some Republicans I've talked to think Trailhead is a hot potato. Hopefully this will knock down their slimy ad campaigns for state Senate races.