Dems flay NH Republican over campaign cash settlement

by Ben Kamisar - 05/14/15 5:05 PM ET

The New Hampshire State Democratic Party is going on the attack against Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) after the Federal Election Commission concluded that his parents illegally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign.

“Over the course of over four years, Frank Guinta has brazenly misled, misrepresented and sadly outright lied over the issue of over $355,000 that was paid into his campaign,” Kathy Sullivan, a Democratic National Committeewoman and former state party chairwoman, said Thursday on a call with reporters.

“He denied his parents provided the funds to his campaign. The FEC letter proves that was not true.”

{mosads}Guinta, who is a top Democratic target in 2016, received $381,000 in checks from his parents between 2009 and 2010, according to an FEC conciliation agreement released by the New Hampshire Democrats. Over the same time period, the document says he loaned his campaign $355,000 from what he said was personal funds.

That amounted to accepting excessive contributions that weren’t disclosed properly, according to the FEC document. He will have to return the $355,000 and pay a civil penalty as part of the agreement.

The congressman argued in the agreement that the money came from family accounts that he had been contributing to, and said in a statement that he reached an agreement with the FEC to provide closure.

“I have long had an equitable interest in this account which was set up with my family; and, for nearly two decades have made deposits — which, including interest, exceed the amount I loaned the campaign,” Guinta said in a statement to WMUR-TV in New Hampshire, the outlet that first broke the story on Tuesday.

“I decided to reach an agreement with the FEC so that I can end the distractions and focus on serving hard-working Granite Staters.”

Guinta has also said he forgot about the account and that his campaign amended its filings once it discovered the error.

The FEC is made up of six commissioners, three from each political party. Because findings need a majority vote, at least one of the Republican members had to have agreed with the commission’s findings.

The funds have been an issue for Guinta since he first defeated then-Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in 2010, when he denied that the money came from his parents and that it was from an illegal donation.

Shea-Porter defeated him in 2012, but as Guinta mounted another successful campaign in 2014 that won the seat back, he launched an ad that pushed back against those accusations.

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“Carol Shea-Porter is lying about Frank Guinta’s finances. The House Ethics Committee 100 percent cleared Frank Guinta, he’s in full compliance,” the ad said.

The ad didn’t mention the years-long FEC investigation that ended this week.

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