PACs say Stockman campaign cashed checks it never reported to FEC Share This:

Steve Stockman file photo. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

When Sunlight reported Jan. 7 on at least $16,000 in missing contributions from political action committees to the Friends of Congressman Steve Stockman committee, a spokesperson for the congressman said that only one of the donations in question had ever been received by the treasurer. Since then, however, representatives from two of the PACs behind the missing contributions have confirmed not only that they made the donations, but that that the checks given to the congressman’s campaign were deposited.

Nine political action committees reported contributions to the Stockman campaign that have not shown up in the campaign committee’s financial disclosures. Federal regulations stipulate that a political committee’s treasurer must make sure all campaign contributions are “deposited in the designated campaign depository… within ten days of receipt.” Yet many of these contributions have gone unreported by the Stockman camp for months. In an e-mail to Sunlight, Stockman’s spokesman Donny Ferguson — who also worked on the campaign — denied that Friends of Congressman Steve Stockman had received any of the contributions mentioned in the story (aside from $1,000 from the Washington State Republican Party which was deposited one year after its receipt according to Ferguson): “As far as I know those checks were never received by the treasurer and deposited.” This contradicts statements from two of the PACs behind these contributions.

A spokesperson for the Credit Union National Association’s PAC confirmed to the Credit Union Times that the organization had given $1,000 to the Stockman campaign and that the check cleared on Aug. 7 last year, nine days after the PAC reported making the contribution. In an interview with Sunlight, a representative of the Government is Not God PAC confirmed the donation of $500 check that was hand delivered last year at a Washington fundraiser for the congressman sponsored by the Conservative Victory Fund. Spokeswoman Shannan Burke told Sunlight the check cleared on March 25 — six days after the check was issued.

Requests for comment sent to Ferguson, the Stockman for Senate Committee and the treasurer of the Friends of Congressman Steve Stockman Committee were not immediately returned. The East Texas congressman has foregone the chance to run for reelection to his House seat, amid questions over his personal and campaign finances. The Republican instead is mounting a primary challenge to incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.