February 2, 2017/Uncategorized
CT Dems’ Statement on Closure of Federal Inquiry into Campaign Finance Activities During 2014 Election
Hartford, Ct. – Yesterday afternoon the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee was informed that the US Attorney’s Office has ended its inquiry into the campaign finance questions regarding the 2014 election.
In response, Connecticut Democratic Party Executive Director Michael Mandell released the following statement:
As part of our response, we were able to obtain from the non-partisan Office of the General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission a previously unreleased draft opinion completely supporting our belief that we were required, as a matter of mandatory federal law, to pay for the mailers at issue in the inquiry with federally-raised funds. We provided that draft opinion to the United States Attorney.
We appreciate the efforts of the US Attorney’s office in reviewing our positions and supporting documents and evaluating the complexities of the law and often conflicting requirements of state and federal campaign finance law. Any further questions about this matter will be addressed by our attorney, David Golub.
The State Party continues to believe in the strong campaign finance laws under which we operate here in Connecticut. That is why we came to a landmark agreement with the SEEC last year to strengthen our clean elections program and voluntarily remove the conflicts between state and federal law. We hope that this will become the paradigm here in Connecticut.
With this issue now behind us, the Connecticut Democratic Party can resume once more fulfilling its mission and function as a State Party, without question, in holding Republicans accountable for their actions and policies, fighting for working families, assisting our elected officials on all levels, and most importantly supporting and electing people who will protect our values from Connecticut to Washington.”