-Caveat Lector- <<I don't know what happened to #11>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ----- Original Message ----- From: <Public Disclosure>; Inc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 1999 12:00 AM Subject: Presidential filings: Questions to ask... : *********************************************** : Public Disclosure, Inc - FECInfo : *********************************************** : Three Items: : -- Latest Soft Money Numbers from the 1997-98 Cycle : Go to http://www.tray.com/fecinfo/sft.htm : : -- 1999-2000 Softmoney Transactions (774 Transactions So Far) : Go to http://www.tray.com/fecinfo/2000soft.htm : : -- Presidential Checklist for April 1999 : : * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * : PRESIDENTIAL CHECKLIST FOR APRIL 1999 : : With campaign finance reports due in mid April NOW is the time to start : pinning the campaigns down with specific questions on their practices and : policies of political money. If this presidential race is like others, : information will eventually come out (sometimes after the election) that should have : been discovered earlier in the campaigns. An example from 1992 is the : treasurer of the Tsongas' campaign who embezzled $232,000 and diverted $794,000 : in other contributions to his personal use. An example from 1996 is the : still unraveling story of major donor White House/party fundraising activities. : In both examples early digging may have made a difference. : : Listed below are a few questions that might be raised at this time. : : 1. What type of pre-campaign organizations did each candidate operate? : Tax-exempt? State PAC? Federal PAC? Office Holder or previous candidate : account (federal or state)? : : 2. How long did this pre-campaign organization operate? How much did it : spend? Did it pay for travel to NH and IA? Who were the donors to it? Has the : candidate made the donors public? If not, why not? The importance can be : seen when one candidate's state PAC had a corporate donor giving $400,000, : another had four $100,000 individual donors, and another had thirteen donors : giving $100,000-175,000. : : 3. Are these the career donors? Shouldn't we know those career donors : now rather than next fall? : : 4. What types of things of value, such as mailing lists, did the : organization have at the beginning of this year? How many names did their mailing : list contain? How much did the organizations spend to obtain these names? : : 5. Has the candidate separated from this organization or is there still : contact? : : 6. Is the candidate receiving personal income right now? The personal : financial disclosure forms are due on May 15, 1999. What income and assets has : the candidate reported previously? Having the previous filing will help in : noticing changes in the May filing. : : 7. Will the candidate make public his/her tax returns. They are due on : April 15th. Has the candidate made them public before? : : 8. Is the candidate himself/herself making any fundraising phone calls? Is : he/she specifically asking for funds? Where is the candidate when he/she is : doing this? Is there any area in government buildings that the candidate : considers private and free to make fundraising calls? : : 9. Will the candidate file a campaign finance report on April 15th. Some : people are official candidates and will be required to report. Others have : only formed exploratory committees and have volunteered to file statements and : reports. One talked about person who is out and around the country has not : voluntarily filed an exploratory committee and thus may not file an April : report. : : 10. Will the candidate file their report electronically with the FEC on : April 15th? If not, when will they? The FEC provides software to the campaigns : and the FEC can physically receive electronic submissions. THE BEST THING : REPORTERS CAN DO FOR DISCLOSURE IS TO PRESS THE CANDIDATES TO FILE THEIR : REPORTS ELECTRONICALLY. : : 11. : : 12. If the campaign won't file electronically, will they make available to : reporters a disk of their report, or at least a disk of their donors? : : 13. Does the campaign realize the FEC requires electronic filing for those : campaigns that enter the public financing program? : : 14. Does the campaign anticipate entering the primary election public : financing program? : : 15. If the candidate states they will not file electronically, follow up : questions might include the following: Does your campaign have any computers? : Does your campaign have a modem? Has your campaign touted its cyber skills : and web site? Does the candidate support electronic filing? Who is the : campaign official who is saying "no"? : : 16. Will the campaign make its donors available on their web site? : : 17. What process does the campaign have for vetting contributions? Do they : refuse any types of contributions? What kinds? Have they refused any so far? : If so, how many and in what amounts? : : 18. Does the campaign accept wire transfers or cashiers checks? : : 19. Does the campaign have an escrow account into which it puts : questionable contributions? If so, how much was in that account on 3/31/99. : : 20. Is the treasurer bonded? : : 21. Who is on the campaign's national finance committee? Has the campaign : made these names public? What are the occupations of these people? : : 22. What is the campaign fund raising goal by June 30th, by Sept 30th, by : Dec 31st? : : 23. How much did the campaign raise from individuals? : : 24. Were these names in alphabetic order or not? If not, was it : re-arranged out of alphabetical order via computer? Why? : : 25. If PAC funds were received, was the full name of the PAC listed or just : the abbreviation? If only abbreviations, why? : : 26. Were the occupations of donors giving more than $200 listed? What per : cent? : : 27. How many occupations of donors giving more than $200 were listed as : "information requested"? What per cent? Are there any well known names that : are not identified? : : 28. How many times does the campaign ask for the full identification? : : 29. Will the campaign make available copies of all fund raising letters? : : : 30. Were there any contributions from unusual occupations, such as "nun", : "welfare recipient", "unemployed", "prisoner", etc? : : 31. Were there any contributions from those that might be children of minor : age? : : 32. Were there any contributions from persons who might be employees of the : same organization as the candidate? : : 33. Were there any bundles of contributions, received around the same time : from a group of people (such as a family, people who work in the same : organization, or in the same area? Were these voluntary contributions? Was it : their money? : : 34. How many donors and how much was raised from the candidate's own home : state? : : 35. Were there any listings of contributions in-kind? : : 36. Are there any contributions over the $1,000 limit? : : 37. How many persons gave to the primary campaign, and also gave to the : legal and accounting account, and also gave to the GELAC account? : : 38. How much was raised in unitemized contributions? What per cent of all : funds? : : 39. Has the campaign provided any figures on the total number of donors, : unitemized and itemized, with a geographic breakout, or dollar amount : breakout? Average or mean contribution amount? If not, why not? : : 40. If the campaign has not provided this type of breakout, does it : maintain this type of information inside their campaign organization? : : 41. What are the top five states for receipts? What are the top five zip : codes for receipts? : : 42. How much has the candidate contributed to the campaign? Where did : these funds come from? checking account, sale of assets, loans, etc? : : 43. How much has the campaign raised from the metro Washington, D.C. area? : From lobbyists? : : 44. Are there any general groupings of key donors, such as those from the : various industry areas, or "Hollywood", etc.? : : 45. Has the campaign directed any of its "maxed out" donors to give to : other organizations? If so, to what organizations? : : 46. When the FECA went into effect, there was requirement to list events : and their receipt totals. It is no longer required, but has the campaign made : public a list of campaign fund raising events and the dollar amount of : receipts? Has the campaign made public the cost of the event in order to : calculate a net proceeds figure? : : 47. Does the candidate make public a daily schedule of the candidate? : : 48. Has the campaign reported any income from invested funds? How are the : funds invested? : : 49. What is the estimate of the campaign for potential matching funds : relating to receipts for the first quarter? : : 50. How much has been transferred into the campaign from other accounts, : such as other federal campaign committees of the candidate? : : 51. What per cent of the candidate's time has been spent fund raising? : : 52. Were there bills in the campaign's office at the close of business : 3/31/99 that were not included in the report? If so, what is now known to be the : estimated total amount? : : 53. From the disbursement section of the report, who are the key staff and : what are they paid? Had they previously worked for the pre-campaign : organization? : : 54. Did the campaign pay for any mail list rental or use or purchase? If : so, from whom? Was it from the pre-campaign organization or a common vendor to : both? From a political party entity? Or from an office holder? If no : payment is shown, where did their list come from? : : 55. What was the price paid per name for this list? : : 56. Did the campaign pay for the use of or access to any other databases? : Was it from a government entity? : : 57. Does the information in the "purpose of disbursement" block appear to : be accurate? Or has the campaign used only a few standard phrases that might : not reflect the true nature of the disbursement? : : 58. Were there any returned contributions listed? If so, why were they : returned? : : 59. Did the campaign get any contributions that were given back prior to : the end of the reporting period, and not disclosed on the report? If so, what : types were they, and how much? : : 60. Were there any payments or reimbursements paid for private airplane : travel or other services or equipment from the pre-campaign organizations? If : so, what was the amount paid and to whom? Was it a fair value? : : 61. Has the candidate utilized any government planes for trips? Are trips : either all-campaign or all-government use? Is there any split travel? Who : decides the split? Is the campaign current on receiving bills for the : government plane use? Is the campaign current on paying for the government plane : use? Are there any outstanding bills for government plane use? : : 62. What class of hotels and restaurants is the campaign paying for? Top : dollar, moderate, economy? : : 63. What large bills are outstanding? What is the total debt? : : There are probably many more questions that should be asked. Information : on the new reports will trigger even more. : : Again, if reporters can press for answers to these questions about the : first quarter's activity maybe the candidates will allocate the necessary amount : of staff time and effort to ensure a fully disclosed presidential race. : : With complete campaign disclosure reporters should be able to get beyond : the simple horse race story, and provide analysis on the candidates, their : advisers, their donors, and the way they and their staff might operate in the : White House. Good luck. : : Reminder: Think electronic disclosure! If you don't ask for it, you're not : going to get it. : : : : : DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
