spazeboy

Where is the Dough Joe?

$387,000 is a lot of money to spend without providing any documentation of where the hell it went. Senator Lieberman either doesn’t have the documentation, or he never intends to provide it. We’re not talking about his personal checkbook or finances, we’re talking about campaign expenditures. I am not a lawyer, but I think the law is pretty clear: Joe Lieberman has a responsibility to have kept a log of how the petty cash was disbursed, and we have a right to see it. The fact that Joe Lieberman and Tammy Sun are using the petty cash log in a childish game of keep-away with the press and the public suggests that they have something to hide. If they didn’t…why not just release the damn thing?

TParty at LamontBLOG gives us the rundown of the Tammy Sun’s back-and-forth-and-back on the legally required petty cash journal that details all the expenditures (graphics added):

First, Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said she wasn’t there when it happened:

Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said she wasn’t with the campaign at the time of the primary, but her understanding is that there was a staffer in charge of keeping track of petty cash. (NH Register, 10/22)

Then she promised she’d produce the journal detailing petty cash expenditures – one that is required by FEC law:

She said the money was used to cover salaries, food, lodging and transportation for hundreds who were hired to do statewide canvassing. The daily rates ranged from $60 to $75 to $100 for the work, Sun said. She said she would attempt to find the petty cash report by Monday. (NH Register, 10/22)

Then she was “unable to say” why the young workers who assumedly got all this cash weren’t listed by name and salary in the FEC report, while their lodging and transportation was:

Sun was unable to say Saturday why the workers, some of whom appeared to have stayed for days or weeks in dormitories at the expense of the Lieberman campaign, were not listed by name and salary. (Courant, 10/22)

Then she hid behind the campaign’s lawyer:

“The fact is, our attorney has assured us that the petty cash expenditures and the rest of our FEC report is in full compliance with the law’s disclosure requirements just as every campaign Joe Lieberman has run for the last 18 years has been.” (AP, 10/23)

Co-Sign the FEC Complaint letter.

Connecticut Bob was on the scene last night, and for some reason was the only person asking Joe Lieberman about the slush fund:

Two notes. One, Bob isn’t a reporter and he’s not paid to ask these questions. What kind of bullshit questions were the paid journalists lobbing at Joe Lieberman? The petty cash question is legitimate, relevant, and a huge scoop for whichever reporter gets the truth (hint hint, traditional media). Two, he already knows about the typo in his video. At least he didn’t call anyone a “goddamn sonovabitch”.

Take a listen to this clip from yesterday’s “Afternoon Drive”
Tom Swan talks to Colin McEnroe about the formal FEC Complaint

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