Oops.
The treasurer of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's reelection campaign confirmed in a letter to federal officials that it took 43 illegal donations during the second quarter and is now taking steps to refund them.
In the letter, filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Ted Cruz for Senate Treasurer Cabell Hobbs also promised the campaign would look into contributions made by a pair of unregistered organizations and also refund them in 30 days if they were "not made with federally permissible funds."
Hobbs' admission that the reelection committee for Texas' junior senator accepted dozens of illegal donations comes after the FEC last week asked the campaign to explain tens of thousands of dollars in contributions that appeared to violate legal limits.
Under federal law, individual donors are barred from giving more than $3,300 to a candidate's election committee. However, the FEC letter raised concerns that 45 Cruz campaign donors exceeded that limit in the second quarter — some by thousands of dollars.
It's not uncommon for the FEC to ask campaigns to return or explain donations that blow past that ceiling. Even so, the 17-page list itemized in the agency's letter was unusually large, campaign finance experts said.
The inquiry also hit the campaign as Cruz faces growing questions over a controversial syndication deal for his The Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.
Through that arrangement, San Antonio-based radio company iHeartMedia has pumped $786,000 in corporate funds into a super PAC created to back to the two-term senator's reelection. Watchdog groups have filed at least two complaints with the FEC arguing the deal appears to be illegal.
Under U.S. law, federal candidates can’t “solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds” on behalf of super PACs. Cruz's critics question how iHeartMedia reached the arrangement to funnel money derived from ad revenue into the PAC if someone in the senator's camp hadn't asked company officials to do so.
Cruz's camp defends the deal by saying the senator records his podcast for free. Officials with iHeartMedia have said the donations are derived from ad sales tied to the podcast.
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The treasurer of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's reelection campaign confirmed in a letter to federal officials that it took 43 illegal donations during the second quarter and is now taking steps to refund them.
In the letter, filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Ted Cruz for Senate Treasurer Cabell Hobbs also promised the campaign would look into contributions made by a pair of unregistered organizations and also refund them in 30 days if they were "not made with federally permissible funds."
Hobbs' admission that the reelection committee for Texas' junior senator accepted dozens of illegal donations comes after the FEC last week asked the campaign to explain tens of thousands of dollars in contributions that appeared to violate legal limits.
Under federal law, individual donors are barred from giving more than $3,300 to a candidate's election committee. However, the FEC letter raised concerns that 45 Cruz campaign donors exceeded that limit in the second quarter — some by thousands of dollars.
It's not uncommon for the FEC to ask campaigns to return or explain donations that blow past that ceiling. Even so, the 17-page list itemized in the agency's letter was unusually large, campaign finance experts said.
The inquiry also hit the campaign as Cruz faces growing questions over a controversial syndication deal for his The Verdict With Ted Cruz podcast.
Through that arrangement, San Antonio-based radio company iHeartMedia has pumped $786,000 in corporate funds into a super PAC created to back to the two-term senator's reelection. Watchdog groups have filed at least two complaints with the FEC arguing the deal appears to be illegal.
Under U.S. law, federal candidates can’t “solicit, receive, direct, transfer, or spend funds” on behalf of super PACs. Cruz's critics question how iHeartMedia reached the arrangement to funnel money derived from ad revenue into the PAC if someone in the senator's camp hadn't asked company officials to do so.
Cruz's camp defends the deal by saying the senator records his podcast for free. Officials with iHeartMedia have said the donations are derived from ad sales tied to the podcast.
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