Does the “Populist Right” care about this, do you suppose? I doubt it:
A Republican senator faces serious allegations that he illegally loaned his campaign millions of dollars from his company. But the senator in question—Republican Mike Braun of Indiana—says he can’t fully answer the government’s questions because one of his key staffers “vanished.”
The Daily Beast found him within minutes.
On Wednesday morning, the Federal Election Commission released its audit of Braun’s campaign committee, alleging a litany of serious financial reporting errors, as well as millions of dollars in allegedly improper loans Braun used to finance his 2018 bid—including $1.5 million routed from the candidate’s former company.
However, the campaign claims it cannot fully comply because its former treasurer “vanished,” and they have not been able to locate him in three years.
But the campaign must not be looking very hard. It only took The Daily Beast minutes to identify and locate the man. His mother said in a phone call that she would pass along a request for comment.
The campaign’s Oct. 4 response to the audit explains that the treasurer in question, Travis Kabrick, “was, at least ostensibly, an experienced FEC compliance professional who had worked for many federal candidate committees over many years.”
However, the response adds that “at some point during the 2018 election cycle this individual began making mistakes and failing to perform his services as warranted (and for which he was being paid). He ultimately vanished, and he has not been able to be located since the end of 2018.”
In a hearing with FEC commissioners on Wednesday afternoon, Chris Gober, a lawyer for the campaign, confirmed that the campaign had still not reached Kabrick, who, Gober said, “effectively just up and left and disappeared on the committee.”
And Kabrick, Gober argued, is critical. Without his cooperation, Gober said, “we haven’t been able to obtain all the documents truly needed to address all findings.” He added that the “inability to make contact or get a response” was in fact so extreme that the campaign asked the FEC to subpoena Kabrick, though it is not clear when the request was made, or whether the agency has taken action.
An hour before the hearing, The Daily Beast had confirmed Kabrick’s current job in a phone call with his employer, as well as his location, contact information, and three social media accounts. (Twitter has suspended an account connected to the personal Gmail address Kabrick listed on campaign registration documents, but a company spokesperson did not say when or why the account was restricted.
Going by the audit’s findings, Kabrick appears to have good reason to keep a low profile. But his absence alone would not seem to cover all of the allegations, which include allegedly illegal loans from Braun’s former company.
The auditors found that Braun’s reports show more than $8.5 million in “apparent prohibited loans” to his 2018 campaign. That includes $7 million in direct loans and lines of credit—with no collateral—“that did not appear to be made in the ordinary course of business.” The FEC also “identified two checks from one corporation totaling $1,500,000 that were reported as loans.”
Those checks came from Meyer Distributing, which Braun founded, and where he served as CEO. The auditors say that fact makes them corporate contributions, which are illegal. The campaign reported them three different ways: first as “compensation” to Braun, then as redeemed stock, and finally as loans.
But that’s just the beginning. The report cites an array of violations, including millions of dollars in misreported contributions and disbursements, as well as reporting errors for another nearly $2 million in donations. The audit also flagged hundreds of thousands of dollars that the campaign paid back to Braun, claiming those repayments exceeded the legal limit—another misstep that would appear difficult to pin on Kabrick.
The report raised eyebrows among campaign finance experts.
Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at campaign watchdog Common Cause, said the allegations cover “massive violations,” including breaking a law more than 100 years old.
“Federal law prohibits candidates from receiving contributions from corporations. This law has been on the books for more than a century for the purpose of preventing politicians from being in the pocket of big corporations,” Ryan told The Daily Beast. The audit, he said, “shows his campaign likely committed massive violations of federal law through receipt of more than $8.5 million in corporate contributions.”
Ryan explained that candidates can borrow money from financial institutions in the ordinary course of business and on standard lending terms. However, he said, auditors discovered more than $7 million in unsecured loans—without Braun putting up “the typically required collateral to assure the loans would be repaid.”
As for the $1.5 million from Braun’s own company, Ryan said the loan exemplifies “special treatment from financial corporations” that “undermines the integrity of our campaign finance laws.”
“Senator Braun and the corporate lenders should be held accountable for any violations,” Ryan added.
The media loves Braun. They turn to him for “common sense” regular Good Republican. And I guess he is — he’s just a garden variety multi-millionaire crooked GOP Senator.
Campaign Finance is sadly a joke. The FEC is toothless and these rich guys will just pay fines, no sweat. It only applies to the little guys. Same as it ever was.