Posted on 05/21/2003 9:48:55 AM PDT by nycfree
MICHAEL BENJAMIN CALLS ON SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE SCHUMER CAMPAIGN FUND-RAISING PRACTICES.
New York, NY - In a letter to the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics, Republican Senate candidate Michael Benjamin today requested a formal investigation into the campaign fund-raising practices of Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.
This request stems from recent newspaper reports indicating a pattern of questionable fund-raising activities by Senator Schumer, as well as the massive fine imposed on him by the Federal Election Commission for taking illegal campaign contributions. On January 27, 2003, Senator Schumer accepted $47,000 from 30 employees of the Tennessee-based Guardsmark Security Company. Less than two months later he co-sponsored legislation in the Senate aggressively sought by Guardsmark Security.
This past April, the Federal Election Commission ordered Senator Schumer to pay a $130,000 fine for taking illegal campaign contributions. In addition, the FEC required him to return $122,000 to donors. A May 14, 2003 article in Roll Call reported that U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner, a protégé of Senator Schumer, has been found in violation of many campaign finance laws, including the taking of illegal campaign contributions.
On May 16, 2003, The New York Post reported that Milberg Weiss, a New York-based law firm, was suggesting to employees that contributions to Senator Schumer’s campaign would secure lucrative work on securities class-action lawsuits.
“It’s not difficult to make a mistake when dealing with campaign finance law, and honest mistakes do happen,” said Benjamin, “but Senator Schumer’s extensive list of questionable fund-raising activity suggests more than simple human error.”
“When you combine an extensive list of questionable fund-raising activity, a record-breaking fine ordered by the FEC for taking illegal money, a protégé who has also taken illegal money and been the subject of intense FEC scrutiny, AND you are a freshman Senator, who has never held a committee chairmanship, and amassed more campaign cash than any other Senator, I think you have reasonable grounds for an official investigation,” stated Benjamin.
Michael Benjamin is a former Wall Street equity trader and insurance agent. In 1993, he founded the New York Benevolence Council, Inc. (NYBC), a nonprofit volunteer organization that has focused on services to public school students and victims of domestic violence. Michael Benjamin was born in New York and lives in Manhattan. More information can be obtained at www.Benjamin2004.com.
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