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January 23, 2008

Calif. Politician Accused of Using Charity for Politics

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights has accused Fabian Nuñez, speaker of the California Assembly, of using a charity as an illegal conduit for his political contributions, reports the Los Angeles Times. The complaint was filed with state ethics officials on Tuesday and cites more than $270,000 that Mr. Nuñez raised in 2005 and 2006 on behalf of a small charity, Collective Space, that may have been used for his political benefit.

Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said that “the contributions were never intended for the charity and should be considered direct donations to the speaker and his events.” The foundation accused Mr. Nuñez of purposefully evading state restrictions on campaign donations by asking donors to give to Collective Space and then using the money for self-promotional purposes. Mr. Heller said he hoped that the ethics panel would either punish Mr. Nuñez or close “a glaring loophole” in state campaign-finance rules.

Mr. Nuñez denies that he has done anything illegal or unethical and said the allegations were a “huge stretch from where reality is of what law allows a member of the legislature to do.” A 1997 state law indicates that politicians must report whenever donors give to noncampaign causes at their request and that such donations are not considered campaign donations if made “principally for charitable purposes.”

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