Rep. Salinas Faces Formal Complaint Filed With FEC
Corruption is found in both parties but, there seems to be a whole lot more in one than the other . . .
February 6, 2024
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a non-partisan ethics watchdog, has filed a formal complaint against House Democrat Rep. Andrea Salinas of Oregon.
The complaint, submitted on Monday, calls for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate potentially “illegal” contributions from a controversial marijuana dispensary chain. The complaint alleges that Salinas’ 2022 campaign and joint fundraising committee accepted a donation from La Mota, the second-largest cannabis dispensary in Oregon, which appears to be an illegal and inadequately disclosed contribution.
According to the complaint, Salinas’ campaign committee and her joint fundraising committee reported $1,000 in contributions from La Mota in August 2022, ahead of the November general election. However, the source with knowledge of the transactions told Fox News Digital that there was only one $1,000 donation and that it was transferred from the Salinas Victory Fund to the campaign on the same day, as is common practice for joint fundraising committees.
The identity of the contribution source has also come into question. The complaint notes that an LLC (Limited Liability Company) can either be treated as a corporation, which is prohibited from making contributions, or as a partnership that can make contributions as long as they are attributed to individual partners. In this case, Salinas’ organization did not properly disclose the source of the contribution, as required by federal law.
The complaint raises concerns about La Mota’s involvement in political scandals and legal issues. This is in reference to multiple civil lawsuits, federal investigations, and federal tax liens the company has faced, including a controversy involving former Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who resigned last year after it was revealed she was working as a consultant for La Mota while her office was conducting an audit on the cannabis industry.
Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT, called for the FEC to investigate and impose penalties to deter future violations. “Evidence that the Salinas campaign committee and her joint fundraising committee either accepted an illegal contribution from an LLC or improperly reported funds from ‘La Mota’ are provided from their own FEC filings, which clearly do not inform the public as to the true source of the funds,” Arnold said in a statement.
A source familiar with the transactions pushed back against the complaint, noting that the donation occurred eight months before any negative reporting on La Mota came to light. Furthermore, once these reports surfaced, the $1,000 contribution was immediately donated to the Marion Polk Food Share in Salem, Oregon, as the Salinas Victory Fund had already been approved for termination by the FEC in 2023 and the contribution could not be returned.
Salinas, who was first elected in 2022, is running for re-election in Oregon’s 6th Congressional District. She currently faces no challengers in the Democratic primary, and elections analysts rate the race as “lean” or “likely” Democrat.
Fox News Digital reached out to Salinas’ campaign for comment, but as of now, there has been no response. As the FEC investigates the potentially illegal contributions, the outcome could have a significant impact on Salinas’ campaign and the 6th Congressional District race.
The public will eagerly await further developments in this matter and the potential consequences for both the Salinas campaign and the La Mota dispensary. It remains to be seen whether this controversy will have repercussions on the upcoming election.
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Ineptocracy
A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers
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