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Defeated GOP congressman appears to be in major financial trouble as he faces DOJ probe
January 19, 2021
Things continue to look grim for ex-Rep. Ross Spano. The Justice Department is still investigating the Florida Republican for campaign finance irregularities and he ultimately lost his Congressional seat in an August primary.
Now, in a sign that Spano's 2021 might not be much better than his 2020, his campaign revealed that it's heavily in legal debt with close to no money in the bank to pay it off.
<p>Spano's campaign revealed in <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/422/202101189405152422/202101189405152422.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">paperwork filed</a> with the federal government Monday that it owes more than $128,000, with about half of that total promised away to law firms representing him in the campaign finance probe stemming from allegations he took tens of thousands of dollars in loans from two friends and then illegally personally loaned that money to his campaign in 2018. </p>
<p>What's more, the campaign revealed it only has about $23,000 left in the bank, after several dismal fundraising quarters preceding his primary loss, according to Federal Election Commission records.</p>
<p>The main reason he has almost no campaign money left is that he had to basically empty his campaign account after he lost the primary to Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin, who dispatched Spano in a close primary and went on to win the congressional seat in November against a Democrat. Franklin was sworn into office earlier this month.</p>
<p>The FEC filing revealed that Spano returned some $150,000 to donors, something he had to do to avoid committing another potential campaign finance violation, said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance expert at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Harmon Curran. </p>
<p>When donors contribute money to a campaign, they have to designate whether it's for a primary election or a general election. The FEC mandates this because donors are limited in the amount of money they can give. Individuals can give $2,800 in the primary and that same amount again in the general, while political action committees can give $5,000 per each election. </p>
<p>But often, donors give that money well in advance of the general election. Unfortunately for Spano, he didn't make it that far in the process in 2020, so he had to give money back to donors who had earmarked it to be used for the general election, lest he anger FEC regulators any further.</p>
<p>"It basically wiped out his campaign," Kappel said. "He lost in the primary, so he had to give back all the money he had received that was designated for the general elections — all the individual contributions and all the PAC contributions."</p>
<p>Some of those donors who received refunds included billionaire Home Depot founder and GOP megadonor Bernard Marcus and his wife Billi; Manhattan real estate investor Steven Roth; Heritage Foundation trustee Barb Gaby; and Las Vegas casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. The list also includes House Minority Whip Steve Scalise's Eye of the Tiger PAC, and PACs representing Honeywell, FedEx and national credit unions.</p>
<p>The problem is that doesn't leave him enough money to repay his debts. The former congressman, his campaign manager, and a D.C.-based ethics attorney who has represented Spano in his campaign finance probes did not respond to emails requesting comment about how he plans to pay down the debt.</p>
<p>Spano, who practiced law before entering politics and is still registered with the Florida bar (though the group did announce it was investigating him last year amid the campaign finance probe), could pay his debt out of his own pocket. He could also raise money from donors with the express purpose of paying down his debt, though that tends to be a hard sell for donors after a congressman is no longer in office.</p>
<p>Still, it's fair to wonder whether the law firms will ever be repaid for their work on his behalf. Other campaigns, after all, have incurred massive legal or consulting debts that they haven't repaid for years, most famous among them, Newt Gingrich, who still owes more than $4 million in fees from his failed 2012 presidential run, and Fox News personality "Judge Jeanine" Pirro, whose campaign was more than $850,000 in debt when she cut short her 2006 bid for the Republican nomination to challenge then-Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton in New York.</p>
<p>That has led to the phenomenon of "zombie campaigns," or campaign committees that continue filing reports with the FEC years after the candidate is no longer running for office because the FEC won't let them close their accounts until they pay off their debts.</p>
<p>Spano's campaign reported owing more than $24,000 to the D.C. firm Berke Farah, which represents members of Congress in ethics matters, and more than $22,000 to the Orlando office of Holland and Knight. The campaign also owes $18,000 to a Florida political consulting firm.</p>
<p>The campaign's largest creditor, however, is still Spano himself. The campaign reported that it owes Spano nearly $60,000, after he loaned that amount to campaign in 2018.</p>
<p>That money, and other loans like it, were the things that got Spano in hot water in the first place. The day before the 2018 election, the <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/11/05/so-where-exactly-did-ross-spano-get-more-than-100000-in-his-bid-for-congress/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tampa Bay Times reported</a> that he may have illegally accepted $180,000 in personal loans from two friends and then passed it off as a personal loan to his campaign committee, an arrangement that is forbidden under campaign finance law.</p>
<p>Since later 2018, Spano's defense in the matter has been that he and his friends entered into the financial arrangement on bad advice from campaign consultants. He reported paying back the loans, and has repaid himself some of the money from his campaign.</p>
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President Donald Trump posted his final video as president of the United States saying that he set out to "make America great again" and that he's proud of what he achieved.
While in office, Trump oversaw thousands of immigrant children ripped from their parents and put in detention centers. He ignored the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in nearly 400,000 deaths nationwide. He was not only impeached, he's the only president in history to be impeached twice.
<p>Trump said he "pray(s) for their success," speaking of the incoming administration, and said, "we wish them luck."</p><p>He then turned to address the attack on the Capitol, saying that such violence "can never be tolerated." </p><p>Trump then turned to brag that he was the only "true outsider to ever win the presidency." He bragged that he built the greatest movement in history and the "greatest economy in the history of the world," both of which are lies. </p><p>At one point, Trump claimed that his efforts were never about whether someone was Republican or Democrat, which has proven to become increasingly so as he attacks both parties when they don't support him. </p><p>"Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at Noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning," he said. </p><p>At no point did he accept responsibility for his failures with the COVID-19 crisis, the Capitol insurrection or the slew of other horrific things he did while in office that hurt so many Americans. </p><p>See other exceprts: </p><p><br/></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c6f2644575227f0a533019403655b211" id="57010"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1351632258730500100"><div style="margin:1em 0">Full excerpts from President Trump’s farewell speech https://t.co/cBR7WfeDiN</div> — Andrew Feinberg (@Andrew Feinberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/statuses/1351632258730500100">1611089217.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><br/></p><p>See the video below: </p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb633473c14272e3651049f3b17c57b5" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" type="lazy-iframe" scrolling="no" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6h5_d3DUdR4?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Farewell Address of President Donald J. Trump</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h5_d3DUdR4&ab_channel=TheWhiteHouse" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p>
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Trump 'spooked' away from pardoning his children and pro-insurrection lawmakers: report
January 19, 2021
During a lengthy meeting with his legal advisers, President Donald Trump was swayed away from pardoning his children as well as Republican lawmakers who encouraged insurrectionists at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
According to CNN.com, Trump along with Ivanka and Jared Kushner listened in as White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Eric Herschmann that the only way he could pardon himself, his family and the GOP members was if he listed out the crimes that were committed. Listing the crimes in the pardon would essentially give prosecutors a guide for how to charge the Trumps with state or civil crimes, which don't fall under the pardon.
<p>While it was something that Trump has discussed with his legal advisers along with former Attorney General Bill Barr, this time Trump finally got the message. </p><p>"The conversation spooked Trump in a way few others have," CNN said, citing a person familiar with Trump's reaction.</p>
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