Harris gifts tied to controversial fundraiser
By ADAM C. SMITH, Times Political Editor
Published January 27, 2005
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/27/State/Harris_gifts_tied_to_.shtml---------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, Florida's most famous member of Congress and a potential candidate for Senate, received early Christmas presents late last year from some controversial benefactors.
While raising money in New York on Dec. 12, she received 10 $2,000 checks from people related to or connected to a New York rabbi and campaign fundraiser dubbed "the Brooklyn Bundler" who was indicted on charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money intended for disabled children.
The donors came mostly from Brooklyn, N.Y., but also from executives of an Iowa slaughterhouse that was at the time facing allegations of inhumane treatment of animals.
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That company had been under criticism since an animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, last month released a secretly recorded videotape that showed a steer staggering with its throat slit and its trachea and esophagus dangling out. Soon after that tape's release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told its inspectors they could shut down a slaughterhouse if they witness a scene like that.
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She is widely seen as a likely challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2006 and is wasting little time building her campaign accounts. A fundraising letter sent last week invited people to contribute and receive a card designating them members of her "2005 campaign team."
"Your strong continued support will help me get ready for my next political challenges," the letter says, without indicating her plans. "Not much is guaranteed in politics but you can bet that I will continue to be a target of the liberals!"
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