Lieberman's Criminal Activity?

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 7:11 AM on October 23, 2006.

This is a guest post from MyDD's Matt Stoller.

Ok, this is getting really weird.  Lieberman spoksewoman Tammy Sun is simply denying that the Lieberman campaign did anything wrong.

"This is just another reckless charge from a desperate campaign that is obsessed with reliving the primary," said Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun. "The fact is, our attorney has assured us that the petty cash expenditures and the rest of our FEC report is in full compliance with the law's disclosure requirements just as every campaign Joe Lieberman has run for the last 18 years has been."

Who's the lawyer for Lieberman, because I don't believe that any competent lawyer would say anything of the sort. The law is clear.

A political committee may maintain a petty cash fund out of which it may make expenditures not in excess of $100 to any person per purchase or transaction. If a petty cash fund is maintained, it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the political committee to keep and maintain a written journal of all disbursements. This written journal shall include the name and address of every person to whom any disbursement is made, as well as the date, amount, and purpose of such disbursement. In addition, if any disbursement is made for a candidate, the journal shall include the name of that candidate and the office (including State and Congressional district) sought by such candidate.

This is $387,000, in cold hard cash. We're not talking going out and getting donuts for some volunteers here.

This could be a serious legal situation for Lieberman, and he needs to explain it and not just go on the attack. Vote-buying is illegal. And if this were some sort of clerical error, why couldn't Tammy Sun just admit that and have the story go away?

Tagged as: 2006, lieberman

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.