Comparisons To Watergate Scandal Grow
Washington, DC — October 25, 2010: Today, several watchdog groups dedicated to clean and transparent elections sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the improper use of tax exempt provisions to raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the 2010 midterm elections. The letter, written by Kevin Zeese, the groups’ attorney and spokesman, states that groups such as American Crossroads, American Future Fund, the Chamber of Commerce and others are violating tax law, campaign finance law and criminal law by creating tax exempt organizations to engage in partisan political activity without restriction or accountability.
The letter can be found at http://www.velvetrevolution.us/images/Holder_Special_Prosecutor_Letter.pdf
The groups note that comparisons to Watergate have gotten louder in recent days as news of abuses and excesses have been breaking on a daily basis. DNC Chair Tim Kaine has called this the “biggest scandal since Watergate.” The New York Times has called this “the most secretive election since Watergate.”
“We are facing a crisis in democracy not seen since the days of Watergate, when satchels of secret money from Texas oil men were used to corrupt the 1972 election campaign,” said Mr. Zeese. “And now, 40 years later, we are seeing vast sums of secret money being used to subvert our elections, most of it from a select group of billionaire and millionaire corporate donors who want to buy politicians who will vote in favor of deregulation and the dismantling of the federal government. And they are doing this by misusing the tax exempt provisions tax code, creating 501c4 public welfare and 501c6 trade association organizations to hide their donors, while acting as political action committees. The President and others have called this a ‘threat to democracy.’ Because this is so, we call on the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to ‘follow the money’ and hold accountable those who have violated the law. The most effective way to face down the plutocrats and oligarchs is for the Department of Justice to remind them that the rule of law applies equally in our country and that our elections and our votes are not for sale.”
Source: Protect Our Elections