Debbie Lesko accused of moving $50K from campaign to a PAC that backs ... Lesko

Congressional candidate Debbie Lesko last month steered $50,000 from her state Senate campaign to a federal political-action committee that has supported her in the West Valley race, a move one of Lesko’s opponents claimed is illegal in complaints filed this week.

The $50,000 transaction laid out in campaign-finance records underpins complaints to the Federal Election Commission and Arizona attorney general made by Phil Lovas, who is also seeking the Republican nomination for the vacant 8th District seat.

Steve Montenegro, who is also vying for the GOP nomination, also condemned the maneuver.

Lovas said the movement and use of the funds reflect coordination that violates campaign-finance rules.

"This is an illegal money-laundering scheme," he said. "They're clearly in violation of the law. They knew 70 percent of the vote would be in by the time this comes out. ... I think it's clear that there's coordination."

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Lesko's campaign maintains they did not break any rules even though the federal PAC is supposed to operate independent of her.

Lesko's campaign sought to focus attention on Lovas' response to two male Arizona lawmakers whose recently revealed behavior toward women has raised questions about workplace boundaries.

“It's unfortunate that Phil Lovas has stooped so low that he has made false accusations. But the question we should be asking is why did he call on Debbie to withdraw from the (8th District) race over fake news but Phil has remained silent first on (recently expelled state Rep.) Don Shooter and now on Steve Montenegro. The women voters of this district should be outraged at Phil’s obvious double standard,” the campaign said.

'We're in compliance'

On Jan. 18, Lesko's campaign committee, Re-elect Debbie Lesko for Senate, gave $50,000 to Conservative Leadership for Arizona, a federal PAC authorized to spend independently of other campaigns. It was created eight days before taking the money from Lesko's state campaign committee.

The new PAC raised almost no other cash, records show. And the PAC used the money to support Lesko with yard signs, while her congressional campaign spent heavily on TV ads.

The entire transaction remained cloudy until the PAC filed an amended accounting of its activities earlier this week.

On Feb. 15, the PAC didn't identify the source of its contributions, using a catch-all category of "other federal receipts" to account for the $50,000.

In an amended filing on Monday, the PAC changed the source of the $50,000 to "other political committees," which required disclosure of who the committee is.

Tim Sifert, the Republican campaign operative who created the PAC, declined to discuss the matter.

"We're in compliance with the FEC," he said.

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Lesko's legal team laid out their view of the matter, saying she didn't know how the PAC would use the money.

"Simply transmitting funds to the PAC — without any direct or indirect communications concerning whether, in what manner, or for what purposes the PAC would use the money — does not constitute 'coordination,' " her memo said.

While the entire transaction and disclosure unfolded within a month, that timing is especially significant in a primary race that began in early December and ends Feb. 27. Early voting, the source of most ballots in Arizona, began on Jan. 31.

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Montenegro, a minister who is battling news of flirtatious text messages with a junior female staffer, was eager to trash Lesko's actions.

"Debbie Lesko thinks the law doesn't apply to her," Montenegro said. "For months, Debbie Lesko and her campaign engaged in money laundering by illegally funneling money into her SuperPAC and knowingly lied about it by filing false campaign reports. Even worse, it was only when Lesko and her team were confronted by the media did they admit to the scandal. Arizonans deserve better than a politician who thinks she's above the law."

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