AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Ethics Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne told commissioners Wednesday that contributions made by Maine Speaker of the House Sarah Gideon in 2015-2016 were likely mistakenly made by Gideon herself, and not her leadership PAC, and recommended against any investigation of the whether the contributions violated state law.
In a memo dated Oct. 23, Wayne wrote that "some of the reporting" by the PACs "could have painted a clearer picture of the payments and reimbursements," the lack of communication was not illegal.
In August, Edward Youngblood, a former Republican state senator from Brewer, requested the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices investigate six contributions made by the Gideon Leadership PAC in 2015-2016.
Two contributions were to Maine-based PACs -- $250 to both the House Democratic Campaign Committee and the Golden Leadership Fund -- and four to a federal candidate and political committee -- a total of $1,250 to Cain for Congress and a total of $1,500 to the Maine Democratic State Committee, according to Wayne's memo.
At the time of the contributions, Emily Cain was running to represent the second Congressional district in Maine. The Golden Leadership Fund was a PAC established by Jared Golden, then a state representative.
Public filings suggest that Gideon made the six contributions with her own money and was later reimbursed by her PAC.
But the recipient committees said in campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Ethics Commission that the contributions were made by Sara Gideon, not the Gideon Leadership PAC.
In his complaint, Youngblood claimed that Gideon violated state and federal campaign finance laws, and asked the MEC to investigate whether the alleged violations complied with the Legislative Code of Ethics requirement that legislators abide by "high moral and ethical standard." Wayne wrote that alleged violations of the Code of Ethics are the jurisdiction of the legislative body.
But Gideon told the Maine Ethics Commission that she believed in good faith when she made the contributions that her payments and the PAC's reimbursements were allowed, Wayne wrote, and that when she learned they might violate federal compliance issues, she promptly repaid personally the amount of the PAC's reimbursements to the U.S. Treasury.
"Based on the information preliminarily available, it is difficult for the commission staff to see how an investigation would lead to a determination that the Gideon Leadership PAC committed the legal violation of 'making contributions in the name of another,'" Wayne wrote. Gideon's PAC "clearly intended to report the contributions in its own name," MEC staff determined, and publicly reported that it had reimbursed Gideon for the contributions.
Wayne wrote that allegations of federal campaign law violations are the jurisdiction of the FEC.
