FEC says Bill Maher made “excessive” and “impermissible” contribution to Bernie Sanders campaign

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.dailynewsbin.com/news/fec-says-bill-maher-made-impermissible-and-excessive-donation-to-bernie-sanders/23871/

Federal Election Commission says it’s opened an inquiry into more than nine hundred instances of donations to the Bernie Sanders campaign which it alleges as being “excessive” and “impermissible.” The FEC is demanding that Sanders explain himself, and has given him one month to respond to each of the accusations. Among the people who have made allegedly impermissible contributions to Bernie Sanders: HBO talk show host Bill Maher.

Bill Maher has consistently been a supporter of Bernie Sanders on his HBO show Real Time, conducting softball on-air interviews with Sanders while regularly making derisive jokes about his primary opponent Hillary Clinton, though making clear that he’s prepared to vote for either of them over a republican. Now it turns out Maher has been putting his money where his mouth is, literally, by writing a check to the Bernie Sanders campaign which the FEC says occurred on November 18th. The problem: it wasn’t allowable.

The Bill Maher donation to Bernie Sanders is listed in the FEC inquiry report under the header “Excessive, Prohibited, and Impermissible Contributions.” Sanders has until March 17th to explain why the Maher contribution, along with the other nine hundred disputed donations on the list, was indeed valid. Meanwhile, Maher has yet to acknowledge the fact that his name is in the FEC violations report. Though considering that the list of Sanders violations is thirty-seven pages long, perhaps he merely hasn’t spotted it yet. Read the full FEC report on the FEC official website.

[Lodestar]

1. Yeah, you have to be a PAC in order to provide opague, unlimited money!

Bernie should know better than to place wall st., corporations and Hillary at such a disadvantage.

[Starry Messenger]

2. This is the Hillary Group.

Thin-skinned reactions to criticisms of Bernie go in the rest of DU.

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. What were you saying about "PACS"?

"Sanders’s Record, Filings Show Benefits From Super PACs, Links to Wall Street Donors"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110749309

Another talking point shot to hell.

[comradebillyboy]

19. So Bernie backers think campaign finance law shouldn't apply to Bernie?

[BlueCaliDem]

31. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. eom

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

3. He made a single $5400 donation.

The limit is $2700 per election - so this would be for both the primary and general election. The remainder would be refunded if he doesn't make it to the G.E.

[Thinkingabout]

5. This is the Hillary group, it is not a forum.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

6. I apologize for posting factual information.

[misterhighwasted]

11. Fact is 900 donations are being questioned. But since its bernie, well then...

...it must be pure.
Sure..yup.
Feel free to grab yourself a free donut on your way outta the Hillary Group
Thank you.

[Thinkingabout]

17. We do not need disparaging post remarks in our group, please respect.

[Cha]

32. The problem being that you intruded into a Group oif which you do not support.. and now

Yes, You've been Blocked.

[Lodestar]

4. All the money in the world won't help candidates if they're unpopular. So hang in there

Bernie!

[misterhighwasted]

13. Thats becoming truer by the day. bernie isn't popular with anyone except

..NH demographic. It's not going to matter in the end how many millions he raises, small donations he brags about nor the large ones he remains silent about.. bernie sanders is stuck with a limited demographic and the republicans that aid him.
None of it will matter in the end cuz he has Zero chance of defeating the remarkable Hillary Clinton anyway.


Oh ya, and you are posting in the Hillary Group.
Feel free to take this disagreement to GDP if you like.

[sheshe2]

21. You have been told

Three times that you are posting in the Hillary Group.

Now you are blocked.

[Starry Messenger]

24. Thank you sheshe

This wasn't even up for a few minutes and only had two recs when the poster swooped in. God forbid anyone should dissent!

[fleabiscuit]

7. I want a Hammer! n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. This is the kind of hypocritical shit that is central to the "BS" campaign. The moral seems to be..

anything goes. "Do as I say, not as I do". If this were Hillary, and some random employee of Goldman Sachs had done this, the outrage would be swift and relentless. I guess "campaign finance reform" begins elsewhere, certainly not with the BS campaign.

[Starry Messenger]

9. Nailed it.

The rest of the FEC document is pretty eye-opening too.

[wysi]

12. Oops

Better hurry up and polish that squeaky clean image.

[misterhighwasted]

15. He's going to need to bus in a lot of image polishers to fix it

Buses full!

[Chichiri]

14. Direct link to the FEC complaint

http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/988/201602110300034988/201602110300034988.pdf

[Starry Messenger]

16. Thanks Chichiri.

I got halfway through the document and was amazed by how many donations were accepted in excess. What were they thinking?

[mcar]

18. Oopsie

[Starry Messenger]

20. Yup!

IOKIBS though.

[LexVegas]

22. Grass roots. nt

[Starry Messenger]

25. Bill Maher is like the orignial Bernie Bro.

I haven't watched his misogynistic show for years.

[sheshe2]

23. Great find Starry.

K&R

[George II]

26. He and apparently dozens of other contributors. And Sanders has 10 days to comply with the law.

[Starry Messenger]

27. What happens after that? Refunds?

I'll be interested to know how much money is represented in the overages.

[George II]

28. He has several avenues of restitution, the easiest being refunds. Even then, the fact that....

...the Treasurer accepted improper contributions and cashed the checks is a serious infraction.

It is the Treasurer's responsibility to return the improper checks to the source uncashed.

This is the big time, not small-town politics.

[misterhighwasted]

29. Who is his treasurer? Jane?

Lord, that would explain the (ahem) "oversight"

[George II]

30. Surprisingly no - it's someone named Susan Jackson.

[Cha]

33. Mahalo for this, Starry!