Former Virginia Attorney General and 2013 gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has filed a lawsuit against a group called the Conservative Strike Force PAC, “…claiming it swiped the lion’s share of the $2.2 million it raised for his failed gubernatorial bid.”
“(A) substantial proportion of the approximately $2.2 million that defendants raised through political fundraising in 2013 was directly attributable to solicitations invoking Ken Cuccinelli, as Virginia’s gubernatorial election was the marquee contested race of American politics in 2013,” the lawsuit states.
“Defendants, however, have admitted that they did not use the money raised invoking Ken Cuccinelli to actually aid the Cuccinelli campaign, either through direct contributions to the campaign or through independent expenditures in support of the campaign, other than a single $10,000 contribution to the campaign on October 4, 2013 – which amounted to less than one-half of one percent of the approximately $2.2 million that defendants raised in 2013.”
The Conservative Strike Force is rather interesting. Looking at how and where it has spent its money so far in this election cycle shows a great deal of money going toward fundraising, including to firms linked to the PAC’s advisers, who are also named in the Cuccinelli lawsuit.
One of the fundraising appeals that appears to have Cuccinelli upset is this one, created by Active Engagement:
But what was the PAC’s job? the Cuccinelli lawsuit does not mince words:
“In short, defendants’ political fundraising in 2013 invoking Ken Cuccinelli was not a means to the legitimate end of supporting the Cuccinelli campaign, but rather was an illegitimate end in itself, with the Virginia gubernatorial election merely serving as ‘cover’ for defendants to prey on unsuspecting small donors across the country,” Cuccinelli says in the complaint. “In addition to being an egregious abuse of the political process, defendants’ malicious ‘Scam PAC’ operation violated the federal Lanham Act, two Virginia statutes, and the common law of Virginia.”
The Conservative Strike Force has faced similar allegations in the past from former Rep. Allen West. In West’s FEC complaint, he charges:
Virtually all of the group’s reported disbursements go to operating expenditures that consist of “email fundraising,” “direct mail,” list rentals, telemarketing services, and consulting fees paid to the organization’s Treasurer and Chairman. The group is simply a fundraising vehicle.
The court proceedings in the Cuccinelli case, then, could be very interesting to copywriters (are certain hooks out-of-bounds?), consultants and PAC managers. Very inside baseball.
But it also matters for folks who receive fundraising appeals. Donors want to know that their dollars are being used as much as possible for the purpose explained in the solicitation. They have a right to expect it. The solicitors have a responsibility to deliver and most do. If they don’t, then lawsuits like Cuccinelli’s may become commonplace.
