Greasing the Palms of Democrats & Republicans from the Same Wallets

CREW - Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics In Washington have filed a complaint with the FEC concerning campaign contributions to Michael Steele's 2006 Senatorial Campaign. There website stated the following:

20 Oct 2009 // Washington, D.C. - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and Maryland citizen and CREW Chief Counsel Anne Weismann, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against a Maryland real estate developer and a number of his employees, alleging serious violations of campaign finance law in giving to Republican Federal Committees.

The complaint seeks an FEC investigation of Edward St. John and six employees of his company, St. John Properties, Inc., for making over $60,000 in illegal corporate conduit contributions to the Maryland Republican State Central Committee and the 2006 Senate campaign of RNC Chairman Michael Steele. The contributions that are the subject of the FEC complaint were made contemporaneously with contributions to several Maryland state candidates that the Maryland State Attorney determined last year had been reimbursed by Mr. St. John using St. John Properties, Inc. funds given to company employees in the form of year-end bonuses. Mr. St. John paid over $100,000 in penalties to settle those state allegations, but he has never been held accountable for the much larger contributions made in connection with the 2006 federal election.

CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan said today, "The facts indicate Mr. St. John made illegal conduit contributions to Michael Steele's campaign committee. With the 2010 campaign cycle in full swing, the FEC should investigate Mr. St. John's activities immediately and make clear that violations of campaign finance law will not be tolerated."

This comes on the heals of last year's fine stated below from CREW's website:

In June 2008, St. John paid $55,000 in civil fines after being charged with making campaign contributions exceeding legal limits through third parties that anticipated reimbursement.

According to the Office of the State Prosecutor, several St. John vice presidents made contributions to the campaigns of Gov. Martin O'Malley and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith in 2006 and were paid back by St. John in the form of year-end bonuses.

No criminal charges were filed because "there was insufficient evidence to establish that Mr. St. John knew that such actions violated Maryland law," the office officials said in a statement.

The state prosecutor also found more than $300,000 had been contributed during that election cycle through third parties and limited liability companies to both Democrats and Republicans. All of the contributions, however, were within legal limits.

What these situations prove is that both political parties are simply funded from the same source. Money is what controls the agenda and the strings that our current corrupt crop of political rulers dance to.