Vermont Business Magazine The Phil Scott campaign today filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office because the political advertisement paid for by the American Future Fund Political Action Committee, a pro-Lisman PAC, appears to have violated or abused provisions of Vermont's campaign finance and transparency laws. On Thursday the Scott campaign first pointed out the Lisman PAC appears to be in violation of Vermont’s campaign finance laws requiring disclosure of donors, which were designed so PACs have to disclose where their money comes from and private interests in elections are transparent. Scott and Lisman are Republican candidates for governor. The primary is Tuesday, August 9
In this instance, the Scott campaign said donations for the ad are coming from Lisman’s former colleagues at Bear Stearns, one who served on the risk management board with Lisman and another who headed the two failed hedge funds built on mortgage backed securities that contributed to the financial collapse. After the Scott campaign objected, they disclosed their names and the amount of the contribution.
Since the Scott campaign’s Thursday press release, it appears the American Future Fund has also, and perhaps illegally, cherry-picked a number of large payments to the PAC, some of which are payments for services rendered rather than donations, so that the $25,000 donated by one of Lisman’s former Wall Street colleagues is less than 25 percent of total contributions and therefore not subject to Vermont’s disclosure law, the Scott campaign said.
"In our view, it really looks like Mr Lisman's Wall Street colleagues have decided that to cover up ignoring one provision of the law they should play fast and loose with another," said Brittney Wilson. "That's exactly the type of thinking that led their hedge funds to fail, the company to collapse and the start of the worst recession since the Great Depression. We hope the Attorney General will hold them accountable."
Source: Scott campaign 8.5.2016