Trump Taps Consultant Accused Of Defrauding PAC To Lead Colorado Campaign
July 1, 2016 11:24 am
Donald Trumps choice to run his campaign in Colorado, a key battleground state, is a veteran political consultant who was accused in the last election cycle of defrauding a top conservative super PAC.
During the 2014 midterm election, Patrick Davis was brought on to help run Vote2ReduceDebt a cash-flush group launched by an elderly Texas oil tycoon who had no experience in politics but wanted to help elect fiscally conservative lawmakers.
The group quickly collapsed amid allegations of faked campaign events, destroyed records, fabricated expenses and contracts routed to friends, ProPublica reported last year.
The groups director questioned whether events organized by Davis were all they claimed to be. At an Iowa phone bank, the director alleged a caller admitted they were just pretending to make phone calls for the benefit of the campaigns video cameras.
Davis denied all allegations of wrongdoing, saying he was trying to clean up a troubled PAC. But according to records and interviews, Davis pushed for much of the groups nearly $3 million to go to organizations run by him or his close associates. He secured payments of about $410,000 from Vote2ReduceDebt to a PAC he founded and helped direct contracts and cash to a company run by a friend.
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http://www.nationalmemo.com/trump-taps-consultant-accused-defrauding-pac-lead-colorado-campaign/