A Joint Statement by
John Bonifaz, Executive Director, National Voting Rights Institute
Scott Harshbarger, President and CEO of Common Cause
Nick Nyhart, Executive Director, Public Campaign

Washington, D.C. - Recent revelations in the past two days on John Ashcroft’s campaign finance record raise troubling questions which need complete answers prior to a full Senate vote on his nomination to be Attorney General of the United States. These allegations can not be ignored and a full investigation into these possible improprieties must ensue. See “Possible Ashcroft Campaign Violation,” The Washington Post, February 1, 2001, A04; “Senate Panel Backs Ashcroft Despite Fund-Raising Issues,” Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2001, A22.

Today, The Washington Post reports that a political action committee established by John Ashcroft appears to have engaged in a blatant violation of the $10,000 limit on contributions to federal campaigns, as well as the reporting requirements that apply to PAC contributions. Mr. Ashcroft’s “Spirit of Victory” PAC donated a fundraising list to Mr. Ashcroft’s 2000 Senate campaign after the PAC had already made its maximum $10,000 donation to Mr. Ashcroft’s campaign, according to the Washington Post article. The list was worth over $116,000 to Mr. Ashcroft’s Senate campaign, which used the list to raise that amount by renting it to other users. The in-kind donation would itself be illegal under federal law once the PAC’s $10,000 limit had been reached, and according to the Washington Post, neither the PAC nor Mr. Ashcroft’s Senate campaign ever reported the transfer of the list, as is also required by federal law.

Mr. Ashcroft’s record also shows that he engaged in a major evasion of federal campaign finance laws in his Senate race last year by directly raising in his own name soft money contributions that were then channeled through national and state political party committees and spent to help his Senate campaign. This evasion resulted in the solicitation and receipt of soft money contributions from corporate interests and others with important case-specific matters pending in the Justice Department.

Further, court documents from a 1982 lawsuit against John Ashcroft reveal that, as Missouri’s attorney general, Mr. Ashcroft engaged in highly questionable, and possibly illegal, fundraising practices. These practices demand further investigation. Of special concern is the conduct of Mr. Ashcroft during an investigation and subsequent litigation against a Missouri oil company and related parties. During the pendency of this investigation and litigation, Mr. Ashcroft refused to answer questions about a personal fundraising visit made to Peter Merrill, a business associate of one of the targets of the investigation.

The court documents also reveal that the Missouri State Republican Committee regularly sent out fundraising letters soliciting contributions on the letterhead of the office of the Attorney General of Missouri, bearing Mr. Ashcroft’s signature. Further, the documents show that, while serving as Attorney General of Missouri, Mr. Ashcroft hired a state employee, on state time, to carry out fundraising for Mr. Ashcroft’s 1984 gubernatorial campaign and to engage on a regular basis in other political campaign activities.

The public has a right to know whether Mr. Ashcroft has violated federal campaign finance laws in his 2000 U.S. Senate race and whether he misused the power of his office as Missouri’s attorney general for political campaign and fundraising purposes. Americans must have confidence that Mr. Ashcroft would properly uphold and enforce the law as Attorney General of the United States, including the nation’s campaign finance laws. We call upon the United States Senate to not only delay a final vote on this nomination but engage in a full investigation of these matters.