UPDATE: The Roanoke Times has this example… as speculation on the “whodunit?” continues to mount.
So the same union, same bulk permit number, and the same vendor that prints Perriello’s taxpayer-funded franking mail is doing anonymous mailers into Virginia’s 5th District?
As broken by Bearing Drift, it appears as if the same union who printed Perriello’s $300,000 in franking mail is the same union who printed Jeff Clark’s mail. Now it appears as if Perriello has made a foolish, bush-league mistake, with all the arrows pointing towards the beneficiary of Perriello’s $300,000+ in taxpayer-funded franking mailings.
Talk about pay for play… if Perriello confirms or refuses to deny, these are insider tricks at their worse, and a major black eye that could very well cost Perriello the election.
Robert Hurt for Congress has more:
The Hurt campaign is calling on Congressman Perriello to immediately admit to and come clean about his role in sending these anonymous mail pieces. These kinds of political mail pieces without a disclaimer are in direct violation of FEC law.
The Facts:
Congressman Perriello uses a union shop to print his franked mail. Note the union bug in the corner of page two on the attached piece. It is identified as shop No. 14. The websites attached demonstrate that Union Shop No. 14 is MV Print: 3229 Hubbard Road Landover, Maryland 20785.
A number of anonymous mailers have been showing up in the 5th District. While they bear no disclaimer, they do show bulk permit number 2856 from the Merrifield, VA Post Office. It has been confirmed that MV Print is bulk permit number 2856.
Why is a mail shop that does Congressman Perriello’s official mail pieces for his Congressional office, paid for at taxpayer expense, doing anonymous mail that would benefit Congressman Perriello in the General Election? It seems to be a rather strong coincidence.
To date, no one has really stood up and claimed these mailers as their own, even thought The Hill has already taken Perriello to the woodshed on previous Jeff Clark mailings.
Worse still, each one mailed is an independent Federal Election Commission violation.
In other words, it’s cheating, and at the last minute.
UPDATE x2: Just got off the phone with Jessica Barba with the Perriello campaign.
She noted that it is somewhat interesting that Robert Hurt opposes the DISCLOSE Act, which would clear this instance of confusion up rather nicely. Nonetheless, Ms. Barba noted there are literally two or three Washington D.C. area mailshops that are unionized, and there are a multitude of groups that use them — not just Perriello.
I asked point blank: if I asked Tom Perriello, would he deny authorizing these mailings? Further would he confirm that he has no idea who is behind them?
Perriello’s campaign is reinforcing that Tom is not behind the mailings, nor he does not know who is behind them.
It’s pretty clear talking to Ms. Barba that the campaign feels this is (a) misinformation being spread by the Hurt campaign, and (b) much ado about nothing. I asked if there would be a press statement from the Perriello campaign, and so far they do not intend to dignify this with an official response.
