Mayor
Vincent Gray’s donor Eugenia "Jeanne" Harris, 75, of Washington, DC,
pleaded guilty to disguising the source of campaign contributions in federal
and local elections and to hiding those activities from federal investigators.
She admitted guilt to three charges: one count of conspiring to violate federal
campaign finance law and to obstruct justice; one count of engaging in fraud
and making false statements; and one count of conspiring to violate District of
Columbia campaign finance law.
According
to the FBI, Harris allegedly used her two businesses and the buinesses of
someone they dubbed as her "Co-Conspirator #1" to buy campaign
supplies and make donations in the names of family members and employees
without reporting such expenses or activities to the DC Board of Elections and
Ethics’ Office of Campaign Finance.
Under
the Federal Election Campaign Act, there are spending limits established on the
amounts that individuals can contribute to individual and multi-candidate
political action committees. Persons are also prohibited under this federal law
from making a political contribution in the name of another person. The act
furthermore bars a person from reimbursing a donor who has already given to a
candidate. In addition, the law bans corporations from contributing money to
candidates for federal public office. Under the District of Columbia Campaign
Finance Reform Act and Conflict of Interest Act, there are similar regulations
on financial activity intended to influence the election of candidates for
District of Columbia office. Harris and “Co-Conspirator #1“, aware of the
finance limits, according to the FBI, circumvented them by funneling personal
and corporate money to friends, family members, and employees to make unlawful
political contributions in various elections. “Co- Conspirator #1“ allegedly
promised to reimburse Harris for her own personal and corporate contributions
as well as those that Harris obtained from others. Harris, in turn, promised
others from whom she obtained contributions that their contributions would be
reimbursed.
In
her guilty plea, Harris admitted that she and “Co-Conspirator #1“ took steps to
impede federal officials from obtaining information concerning their
involvement in the illegal conduit campaign contributions, unreported political
expenditures, and other activities. She said she compelled others to shred and destroy a large volume of
paper records maintained by her businesses. She also caused others to destroy
stored electronic records from her businesses because they could have revealed
what took place in the 2010 mayoral election.
The
“Co-Conspirator #1“ mentioned in the FBI charge sheet on Harris is widely
believed to be Jeffrey Thompson, owner of Chartered Health Plan and the city’s
single-largest contractor, whose home and offices have been raided by federal
agents in March.
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