FEC fines Sharpton presidential campaign $497k
Ben Smith writes on Politico: The wheels of the FEC can grind slow, but they just made their way to Al Sharpton's 2004 presidential campaign, and to fining him $497,000 for illegal contributions, according to MoneyLine.
The Rev.'s spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, sends over a defiant statement, saying that what the FEC takes as illegal contributions to the campaign were in fact contributions to Sharpton's nonprofit, the National Action Network; and also the fairly novel point that, since certain American Express bills in question remain unpaid, those expenditures should be excluded.
"We must have election rules that are for Senators and Congress people, or Joe the Plumber, or Al the Preacher," the statement ventures. -- Ben Smith's Blog: 'Al the Preacher' vs. FEC - Politico.com