With under a half-hour to go until voters get confirmation that Senator Russ Feingold has indeed returned to Wisconsin after living in sunny California, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel released yet another bombshell in his slush fund scandal.
The godfather of campaign finance reform just got caught for ripping off his donors. Again.
A mere 20% of the funds raised by Mr. Clean’s Progressives United for Wisconsin went directly to candidates. As the Journal Sentinel reports, "a larger chunk went to Progressives United Inc., a political nonprofit that was the sponsoring organization for the state PAC, for rent and staff salaries…Most of the payments were for staff wages…"
Progressives weren’t united for Wisconsin – they were duped for Russ’ (rock) bottom line. Senator Feingold’s decision to trick his Wisconsin donors into stuffing his own pockets is a new low.
It’s not often that Senator Feingold asks Wisconsinites for donations after he decided to fully flop on his 1992 Garage Door Pledge "for the future."
Yet, when he does, he makes sure to totally rip them off.
ICYMI, read more from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Feingold’s state PAC gave only 20% to candidates
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Daniel Bice
October 14, 2016
Progressives United for Wisconsin was a political action committee set up by former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and his allies to help liberal candidates and causes during the state’s recall fervor.
“Progressives United, the advocacy group Feingold founded nearly three years ago, recently announced it was forming a Wisconsin political action committee (PAC) aimed at defeating Gov. Scott Walker, returning the state Senate to Democratic control, supporting ‘future progressive leaders’ and promoting progressive policy," the group announced in 2013.
But records show that only about 20% of the funds raised by the PAC went directly to the Democratic candidates in Wisconsin. A larger chunk went to Progressives United Inc., a political nonprofit that was the sponsoring organization for the state PAC, for rent and staff salaries.
State Republicans suggested Friday that Feingold’s team set up the state PAC to serve as a funding source for the nonprofit, which was led by former Feingold aides in the period between his 2010 defeat to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and his current campaign. Feingold, a Democrat, and Johnson, a Republican, face off again next month.
“It’s a bird, it’s a plane — Oh, wait, it’s just Senator Feingold saying one thing and doing another — this time not only ripping off Wisconsinites but directly misleading them into donating money," said state GOP spokesman Pat Garrett.
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"In a way, it is unusual," said [Progressives United Inc. attorney Mike] Wittenwyler, who is based in Madison. "It goes back to Russ being too honest. What he does is use PAC money that would otherwise be spent on hard-money political activity and instead has it pay for its own expenses."
Garrett countered, “I am sure that makes the passionate supporters, who got tricked into giving their hard-earned money to Feingold and his political slush fund, feel so much better.”
The Journal Sentinel reported last year that two Feingold groups — Progressives United Inc. and Progressives United PAC, his national political arm — poured the bulk of their funds into raising money. Another sizable chunk went to pay salaries or consulting fees for Feingold, his top aide and eight former campaign and Senate staffers.
In all, Progressives United PAC gave only 5% of its funds, or $355,000, directly to federal candidates and political parties…
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In addition, many of the staffers at those two organizations ended up moving to Feingold’s current campaign, which is also using several of the same vendors as the Progressives United groups.
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According to state records, Progressives United in Wisconsin raised $130,390 during the state’s 2014 election cycle. Of that, it gave $24,663 to Wisconsin candidates — or slightly less than 20% of all the money it collected.
The state PAC paid another $30,664 to Progressives United Inc. as reimbursement for various items — or slightly less than a quarter of the funds it raised during that period. Most of the payments were for staff wages, meaning Progressives United in Wisconsin was reimbursing its sponsoring organization for work done by Progressives United Inc. on behalf of the state PAC.