Washington Secrets: Finance
Report: Al Sharpton owes over $900,000 from 2004 presidential campaign
By Paul Bedard | January 30, 2015 | 9:10 am
An explosive new report about “deadbeat politicos” revealed Friday that civil rights activist and MSNBC celebrity the Rev. Al Sharpton owes the federal government tens of thousands of dollars in fines and $880,000 in debt from his ill-fated 2004 presidential campaign.
And that’s on top of the $4.5 million Sharpton owes in back taxes.
In a report that revealed long-term unpaid debts by notable presidential candidates including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain, the Center for Public Integrity also found that most political debtors aren’t really on the hook to pay their bills because of the way the campaign finance system works.
In focus at the top of the report titled “Deadbeat politicos outrun federal enforcers,” was Sharpton, who the Center noted uses his show, “PolticsNation,” as “a de facto soapbox for his liberal political views,” including defending the IRS against Tea Party criticism.
It found that Sharpton still owes the Treasury $19,500, “after being caught accepting illegal campaign contributions, according to federal records. It also owes the Federal Election Commission several thousand dollars in unpaid fines, even after paying off a separate $208,000 penalty in 2009 for several campaign violations.”
They also found $880,000 in unpaid 2004 campaign bills. But a spokeswoman didn’t offer the Center any timetable to pay off the bills.
Unpaid bills for Gingrich, said the Center, reach $4.6 million and for Cain they are $30,000 to the FEC.
Still, most debtors can duck the bills because of the way their political committees are structured, often not even naming a person responsible for paying the bills. “Debtor political committees offer various reasons — no money, no staff, standing on principle against the government — for not paying money federal officials say they owe. Some offer no reason at all,” said the report written by Dave Levinthal.
It’s a “disturbing” FEC Chairwoman Ann Ravel told the Center, adding there isn’t much the commission can do. “Only when there are real consequences is there respect for the law,” Ravel said. “There aren’t real consequences now.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/report-al-sharpton-owes-over-900000-from-2004-presidential-campaign/article/2559558
