U.S. Senate ethics rules prohibit the use of footage from any government cameras in political ads (page 125 of this document). Pretty straightforward. So straightforward that Louisiana Senator Mary Landreau had to reenact a scene in order to comply with the rules.
Sen. Mark Warner decided the rules must not apply to him, using Senate footage in campaign ads across the Commonwealth.
RPV Chairman Pat Mullins has filed an ethics complaint with the U.S. Senate, calling on an investigation and appropriate punishment for the rules violation.
“While I realize that Mark Warner is desperate to do anything to create the illusion of a record that’s not 97 percent in line with President Obama, it’s deeply concerning to me that he and his team have taken such a cavalier attitude toward Senate rules.”
“Apparently Mark Warner spent just as much time reading Senate rules as he did reading the Affordable Care Act. Virginians deserve better — on both counts.”
Read the full release from RPV below:
RPV Chairman Pat Mullins Files Ethics Complaint With U.S. Senate Over Mark Warner TV Ad
— Warner ad makes use of an image from a Senate Committee hearing in violation of Senate Rules —
Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins today filed an ethics complaint with the U.S. Senate regarding the inappropriate use of images from official Senate proceedings in a recent TV ad.
In his letter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, which can be found here, Chairman Mullins notes that not only is this use of official images against Senate standing orders, the rules were of such concern to fellow-embattled Democrat Mary Landrieu that she actually re-enacted a committee hearing to avoid violating them.
“Earlier this year, one of Senator Warner’s Senate colleagues, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), was so concerned with complying with this Standing Order that she went to the extreme length of reenacting her statement at a United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in order to include “footage” of the statement in a campaign television ad. Carrie Dann, “Landrieu Camp: Ad Reenactment Done to Comply with Senate Rules,” NBC News, April 15, 2014, available at:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/landrieu-camp-ad-reenactment-done-comply-senate-rules-n81046.
RPV Chairman Pat Mullins issued the following statement:
“While I realize that Mark Warner is desperate to do anything to create the illusion of a record that’s not 97 percent in line with President Obama, it’s deeply concerning to me that he and his team have taken such a cavalier attitude toward Senate rules.”
“Apparently Mark Warner spent just as much time reading Senate rules as he did reading the Affordable Care Act. Virginians deserve better — on both counts.”
1:15pm UPDATE: NRSC Communications Director Brad Dayspring has put out the following statement:
“The rules very clearly prohibit the use of images of Senate proceedings for political campaign purposes, regardless of where or how they are obtained. It is the content of the photo used by Senator Warner, not the source, that violates Senate rules. Mark Warner’s made up ‘journalism’ exception does not exist and is not found in the actual rule, which is why so many others have avoided using similar images – including Senator Warner’s embattled colleague Mary Landrieu who went to the extreme length of reenacting a Senate hearing for a campaign ad earlier this year. Senator Warner broke the rules, pure and simple.”
