The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance the Registry of Election Finance has ordered two Constitutional Republican groups to register as political action committees. (Photo: John Partipilo)
The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance ordered two related Constitutional Republicans groups to register as political action committees this week, but not before one registry member suggested the matter be turned over to the state’s law enforcement agency.
“I’d say dump it in the lap of the (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) and say you guys go after them and figure out whether they’ve done A, B, C and D …,” Registry member Tom Lawless said toward the end of a lengthy hearing Tuesday.
Lawless didn’t believe much of what the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans or its operating group Sumner County Constitutional Republicans said, as they contended they were nothing but a coffee klatch intent on spreading “conservatism.”
Paige Burcham Dennis, while thanking the group for getting involved in the political process, also called for having a separate entity look into the matter “to clear the air so no one gets in trouble.”
Other members didn’t take quite as hard a line, including Hank Fincher who said he saw “nothing remotely criminal.”
Ultimately, the board took Lawless’ other option and voted unanimously to allow 45 days for the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans, a limited liability company run by Kurt Riley, and its operating arm, Sumner County Constitutional Republicans, to register as political action committees with the Registry of Election Finance and start filing reports.
If the groups refuse, they can appeal to an administrative law judge or Chancery Court.
Constitutional Republicans face state Registry complaints
While Lawless leaned toward skepticism, other board members said the Sumner County group was just getting together for breakfast, talking politics and exercising First Amendment rights, at least until they realized one was raising money and the other was acting like a political group.
Represented by attorney Kirk Clements, the group’s chairman, Riley, also the registered agent for Tennessee Constitutional Republicans, and several other members took an oath to testify before the Registry board after being subpoenaed. Failed state Senate candidate Chris Spencer did not show up for the hearing (he was said to be on a long-scheduled vacation), which irked some board members.
The Registry board had taken matters into its own hands after it felt the Attorney General’s Office did a pathetic job of investigating the groups.
The case stems from a sworn complaint filed by Goodlettsville businessman Wes Duenkel, who argued that the two groups raise and spend money while supporting at least two candidates for public office, which requires them to file as political action committees.
Duenkel didn’t have records proving the Sumner County entity spent more than $1,000, the minimum amount to start reporting, in part because it has no bank account. Yet Registry members noted Tennessee Constitutional Republicans brought in about $18,000 last year and spent about $12,000, according to information the group provided.
The Sumner County group then hired private investigators to vet candidates (which is a little spooky unless you consider the situation with North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson), rented space at community events, held breakfasts, bought stickers, sold T-shirts and endorsed and disavowed candidates on their website.
Chris Spencer with wife, Lisa, on Aug. 1, 2024. Spencer was subpoenaed to appear before the Registry of Campaign Finance but failed to show. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Their websites had donation links, both of which went to the LLC, when Duenkel filed the complaint, but those were removed almost immediately. The Sumner County group also added Duenkel to its “Wall of the Unaccountable,” which seems a little odd considering they skirted the rules, even as they’ve had an outsized impact on Sumner County politics, inserting “Judeo-Christian values” into an official county document, fighting with the election commission over a storage building and trying to uproot historical property.
Their attorney, Kirk Clements, claimed repeatedly that all expenses were personal and that no fundraising or expenditures were linked to specific candidates. He also argued a Supreme Court case requires specific support for candidates in order to meet the requirement to file as a PAC.
The question, though, is whether one group is simply a conduit for another, and Duenkel’s attorney, Keith Dennen, at one point referred to the LLC as a “sham company.” It received what were termed as “investments” and “loans.”
Compared to other matters that have come before the Registry over the years, this one involves a piddling amount of money, as far as is known. Then again, the Comptroller’s Office spends an inordinate amount of time investigating thefts amounting to a few thousand dollars from school booster clubs.
Either way, it’s money, and as was pointed out, everyone has rules to follow. Besides, a group that claims it is following biblical principles — as it does on the website — shouldn’t worry about state investigations. If there’s nothing to hide, register and report, which is what they did until fall of 2021 when they adopted a new name and maybe a more aggressive outlook.
Anticipation builds
A state probe into a “collusion” complaint against Bristol pharmacist Bobby Harshbarger, who defeated incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg in the August GOP primary, is complete. But the Registry of Election Finance won’t take it up until November, after the general election when Harshbarger faces independent candidate Dalia Price.
Sen. Ken Yager, chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, filed the sworn complaint, claiming illegal coordination between East Tennessee Conservatives PAC and U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, (they share the same treasurer, Thomas Datwyler), and her son’s campaign.
The report by the state Attorney General’s Office is said to be voluminous.
Bobby Harshbarger (Photo: BobbyForTN.com)
East Tennessee Conservatives PAC received $95,000 from the American Policy Coalition in Alexandria, Virginia in dark money to pour into the campaign.
Harshbarger put $380,000 in loans into his campaign.
He netted only $24,000 in donations, including $1,729 from former Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover (an oddity).
Lundberg brought in more than $425,000 in the two reporting periods before the primary, heavy on PAC money and support from Senate friends as well as former Gov. Bill Haslam, to go with $185,400 he had in the bank.
Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Lundberg also received an endorsement from Gov. Bill Lee after carrying a private-school voucher bill this year. Harshbarger doesn’t appear to be touting vouchers.
But alas for voucher backers, the outcome of the investigation won’t affect the election results. More than anything it will lead to a shuffling of Senate leadership.
Interestingly enough, Datwyler is the treasurer for Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, who is under investigation by the FBI for potential campaign finance indiscretions. He’s made more changes to his Federal Election Commission reports than a meteorologist.
National Democratic organization targets races
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is entering the fray in purplish Tennessee districts to bolster the hopes of three candidates as the minority party tries to gain a small foothold in the Legislature.
The committee is supporting Rep. Ronnie Glynn of Clarksville in his race against Republican Jamie Dean Peltz; Allie Phillips against Republican Rep. Jeff Burkhart in Clarksville’s House District 75 race; and Jesse Huseth against Republican Rep. John Gillespie of Memphis in House District 97.
Wins in those districts would give Democrats 26 seats in the 99-member House, still not enough to gain authority but at least a brick in the wall.
Jesse Huseth, the Democratic candidate for House District 97, is getting a boost from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht)
Faith no more
Gov. Bill Lee dropped his endorsement of North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in that state’s gubernatorial race amid reports that he called himself a “black Nazi” and encouraged reinstatement of slavery on a porn site, according to multiple reports.
Politico reporter Natalie Allison (former Tennessee Capitol Hill reporter) also found that Robinson’s reported access of the “Nude Africa” porn site took place close to his home and that his email address was registered with other dating websites.
Lee was scheduled to speak this week at a North Carolina fundraiser for Robinson but dropped it from his travel plans after it was canceled.
That’s pretty smart since it would be hard to attend something that doesn’t exist.
Canceled: A fundraiser for embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson featuring Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was canceled after reports of Robinson’s past activity on porn sites emerged.
The governor held no press conferences in the Nashville area this week but told reporters elsewhere he would not be backing Robinson, which he previously did as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
When he first came out in favor of Robinson (oops, I didn’t mean to say came out), Lee said, “From investing in safe neighborhoods to driving economic prosperity, Mark Robinson will put the people of North Carolina first.”
Sounds more like he’s been prioritizing depravity, even though he denies everything, which is what you have to do when support is dropping right and left and your campaign and life are collapsing. That brings us back to the tired saying, “Denial is not a river in Egypt.”
And they keep falling
Private-school voucher voucher-er Corey DeAngelis, who warned people against the dangers of drag shows for kids, is being dumped by the American Federation for Children amid reports he was involved in bizarre gay porn sites.
Nothing like a little hypocrisy to brighten up our lives.
DeAngelis was a frequent tweeter — or X-er — in support of Gov. Lee’s plan to use public funds to send kids to private schools. He was retweeted by groups such as Americans for Prosperity in the run-up to the legislation’s failure this year when Republicans finally realized they were going to get killed at home if they passed this move that could wind up costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars with no guarantee it will make students smarter. AFP declined to comment on the matter.
Not that we care what these folks do in their spare time. But when you’re selling Kool-Aid, drink the stuff.
“I rode a tank, held a general’s rank / When the Blitzkieg raged and the bodies stank.” *
* “Sympathy for the Devil,” The Rolling Stones
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