Michigan Democrats In Disarray, Fined $500K For Shoddy Fundraising Scheme

June 9, 2017

First, a bombshell report detailed how the Michigan Democratic Party is in disarray, faced with numerous corruption accusations while Gretchen Whitmer, the frontrunner for the Democrat gubernatorial nomination, stood idly by. Now, the Michigan Democratic Party is once again in turmoil, as the Detroit Free Press revealed today that the Party is being fined an astounding $500,000 for shoddy fundraising practices – a fine that “far exceeds the average penalty levied against candidates and political organizations over the years.”

This is bad news for Gretchen Whitmer’s struggling gubernatorial campaign, and proves to political observers that she and other Michigan Democrats won’t be able to count on the state Party’s organizational or financial assistance.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

“Games of chance have always been risky, but they also just got very costly for the Michigan Democratic Party.

The party has agreed to pay a hefty $500,000 civil fine to the Federal Elections Commission — one of the largest penalties every levied by that office — after an internal investigation of its bingo operation, which was used for political fund-raising, found numerous examples of shoddy record keeping, contributions that exceeded limits and campaign finance reporting inaccuracies. one of the largest fines eve levied by the federal elections commission.

It’s a fine that far exceeds the average penalty levied against candidates and political organizations over the years. The highest average fine over the past 40 years was $179,499 in 2006.

But the $500,000 fine will put a crimp in the party’s budget. It must pay $100,000 immediately and then pay off the rest in quarterly installments through mid-2019.  The party’s federal campaign fund has a balance of $147,915, according to reports filed with the FEC. Under state law, a political party’s state campaign finance reports do not have to include a summary sheet, which would detail how much disposable cash the party