Read FEC complaint here: FEC Complaint against Eugene DePasquale

HERSHEY, PA — The Brier Campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Democratic rival, Eugene DePasquale, citing specific evidence that DePasquale improperly spent at least $113,050 of nonfederal campaign funds on services and advertisements benefiting his federal congressional campaign.

According to the official complaint, DePasquale, several months prior to his congressional announcement, illegally funneled more than $113,000 in nonfederal campaign funds to five separate political entities for various federal campaign-related services including “media,” “website,” and “video production.” During this same time period, DePasquale’s nonfederal campaign committee also spent tens of thousands of dollars on Facebook ads that promoted federal issues and collected personal information on targeted users. Of the $113,050 in misappropriated funds, nearly a third was paid to Jackson Media Group for the production of the congressional campaign video that DePasquale released in conjunction with his official announcement in July 2019. That improperly funded video continues to be promoted on Jackson Media Group’s website. The complaint concludes that such conduct, taken together, amounts to a crystal-clear violation of federal election law.

Federal election law requires that candidates only use funds subject to federal contribution limits and source prohibitions. Because many states, including Pennsylvania, do not place similar restrictions on political contributions, the FEC has adopted a strict ban on transferring funds or providing assets from a person’s nonfederal campaign to or in support of a candidate’s federal campaign.

The Brier Campaign alleges unlawful payments by DePasquale’s nonfederal committee to at least five separate political vendors between March and May 2019. The complaint requests that the FEC review the relevant materials, conduct a thorough investigation, impose penalties mandating repayment of misappropriated funds totaling at least $113,050, and secure an agreement from DePasquale and his committees not to repeat any of these violations of law.

“To borrow from Thomas Jefferson, ‘Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government,’” Brier said. “When I announced my candidacy last March, I said that I trusted voters to be brave enough to be told the truth. At this critical juncture in our history, we simply cannot afford to give corruption a free pass.”