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TroyD

(4,551 posts)
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 01:21 AM Oct 2012

PBS Frontline: Documents connecting SuperPAC to GOP politicians found in Montana meth lab

October 29, 2012

The boxes landed in the office of Montana investigators in March 2011.

Found in a meth house in Colorado, they were somewhat of a mystery, holding files on 23 conservative candidates in state races in Montana. They were filled with candidate surveys and mailers that said they were paid for by campaigns, and fliers and bank records from outside spending groups. One folder was labeled “Montana $ Bomb.”

The documents pointed to one outside group pulling the candidates’ strings: a social welfare nonprofit called Western Tradition Partnership, or WTP.

Altogether, the records added up to possible illegal “coordination” between the nonprofit and candidates for office in 2008 and 2010, said a Montana investigator and a former Federal Election Commission chairman who reviewed the material. Outside groups are allowed to spend money on political campaigns, but not to coordinate with candidates.

“My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that WTP was running a lot of these campaigns,” said investigator Julie Steab of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, who initially received the boxes from Colorado.

SNIP

In all the documents, one name repeatedly popped up: Christian LeFer. Even though two Montana Republican politicians founded WTP, investigators determined that LeFer was the man behind the scenes.

LeFer, who is described as WTP’s director of strategic programming in memos in 2009, said in an email that the documents “appear to be stolen property” and that, as he’d had no access to them, he couldn’t respond to most of ProPublica’s questions, “which seem to be based on an erroneous and fanciful interpretation of what they mean.”

LeFer did not address whether WTP had coordinated with candidates. Although former employees and candidates said LeFer helped his wife run Direct Mail and Communications — the printing company that Brown, the lawyer, suggested was the owner of the boxes of documents found in Colorado — LeFer said he did not “run or direct the activities” there.

Direct Mail listed its principal office address in Montana filings as being the same Colorado address WTP initially used.

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More:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/big-sky-big-money/mysterious-docs-found-in-meth-house-reveal-inner-workings-of-dark-money-group/

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PBS Frontline: Documents connecting SuperPAC to GOP politicians found in Montana meth lab (Original Post) TroyD Oct 2012 OP
Wasn't WTP the plaintiff in "Citizens United"? DollarBillHines Oct 2012 #1
Right again, DollarBillHines. And they've changed their name since then... freshwest Oct 2012 #4
Glad to see PBS picked this story up! SunSeeker Oct 2012 #2
Maybe this is why Mitt wants to get rid of PBS TroyD Oct 2012 #3
good point! Divine Discontent Oct 2012 #6
Looking forward to seeing this tonight! FRONTLINE usually airs at 9pm EDT Up2Late Oct 2012 #5
I just watched this via streaming from the FRONTLINE web site, because GPB didn't show it! Up2Late Oct 2012 #7

DollarBillHines

(1,922 posts)
1. Wasn't WTP the plaintiff in "Citizens United"?
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 01:42 AM
Oct 2012

I know, it's late and I have been dabbling...

But I am pretty sure...

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
4. Right again, DollarBillHines. And they've changed their name since then...
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 02:38 AM
Oct 2012
Montana Supreme Court Decision Opposes Citizens United

On December 30, 2011 the Supreme Court of the State of Montana effectively flipped the Supreme Court of the United States and their Citizens United decision the bird. In Western Tradition Partnership v. Attorney General of MT, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock defended the state’s 1912 Corrupt Practices Act against the Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), Champion Painting, and the Montana Shooting Sports Foundation. The lead plaintiff, WTP, only divulged to the court that it wishes to “spend money anonymously to influence Montana elections.” The Corrupt Practices Act limits campaign contributions from corporations and stands opposed to Citizens United. Legal commentators are predicating that the Montana Decision will set the stage for a showdown in the United States Supreme Court.


A lot more at the link:

http://ivn.us/2012/01/20/montana-supreme-court-decision-opposes-citizens-united/

Western Tradition Partnership


The group changed its name to the "American Tradition Partnership," announcing it on Facebook in December, 2010. A search for Western Tradition Partnership redirects to http://www.americantradition.org/, where visitors get a form seeking their contact information and urging visitors to "Crush gang green and their business allies!"[5][6]

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Western_Tradition_Partnership#2010:_Name_change_to_ATP

What do you think, they did the name change to hide what they'd done with Citizens United?

Just as Blackwater changed their name to Xe, then Academie. I've seen this done as crooked businesses get in trouble and change their names to escape what they did...

Divine Discontent

(21,056 posts)
6. good point!
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 05:04 AM
Oct 2012

and keeping their dirty papers in their m-lab just says "idiots!"

this is a very interesting story, indeed!

Up2Late

(17,797 posts)
5. Looking forward to seeing this tonight! FRONTLINE usually airs at 9pm EDT
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 04:30 AM
Oct 2012

...but sometimes it's moved to 10PM, check local listings at the Schedule link up top.

Up2Late

(17,797 posts)
7. I just watched this via streaming from the FRONTLINE web site, because GPB didn't show it!
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:49 PM
Oct 2012
It was REALLY good and well worth watching!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/big-sky-big-money/

All the newer FRONTLINE shows are here, except for a few that the RW mafia has some how prevented them fro posting:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/

Btw, I had to watch this via streaming because Georgia Public Broadcasting preempted it to show Ellen DeGeneres getting the Mark Twain Prize and then they showed what was basically an infomercial on a weight loss program called "The Weight we were," I think, and then now they are re-playing the Ellen DeGeneres show 30 minutes later!

Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Ellen, but this is just so typical of GPB, when ever there is a FRONTLINE program that is critical of Republicans they always seem to find a way NOT to show it!!!

This is NOT the first time they have done this and I'm not sure why they do this, but I sure have a good Idea why.
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