Tampa Bay Times: 'Dark money' group backing Marco Rubio faces another complaint

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“The investigation should determine whether CSP is improperly conferring a “private benefit” on Senator Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign in violation of federal tax law by engaging in excessive campaign activity on Senator Rubio’s behalf that is not permitted for a section 501(c)(4) organization,” reads a letter from the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21.

According to Campaign Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert:

The publicly available facts indicate that Conservative Solutions Project is little more than a single-candidate 501(c)(4), with no other mission than to advance the presidential aspirations of Marco Rubio and as such in clear violation of the tax code.  501(c)(4) “social welfare groups” by statute must “[promote] the common good and general welfare of the people of the community as a whole” rather than an individual candidate for political office.  In promoting the Rubio candidacy, to the apparent exclusion of all else, Conservative Solutions Project would seem to be in clear violation of the tax exempt status it claims but for which it has yet to even apply.

“If these apparent violations are left unchallenged, they will quickly be emulated by candidates for Congress and soon by candidates for state and local office as well,” Hebert said. “The victims of this type of apparent lawbreaking will be the American people who will not only be cheated out of tax revenue, but more importantly robbed of any information about the special interests seeking to buy influence with public officials.”

To read the full story at Tampa Bay Times, click here