Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

jon ralston:

Secretary of state pulls no punches in Reid probe

If anyone thought Ross Miller was going to fake it, think again.

The secretary of state, a Democrat, asked to investigate the son of the most powerful Democrat in the country not residing on Pennsylvania Avenue, is hardly shirking his duty. Miller sent a letter to former gubernatorial hopeful Rory Reid and his accomplices Friday as he began a probe into a campaign financing web that clearly violated the spirit and intent of the state’s campaign financing laws.

Miller is seeking answers to exactly how Reid et al. erected an elaborate structure — a master political action committee and 90 phony ones — so the candidate could amass $750,000 in funnel money, 75 times the legal limit for individuals or PACs. If it’s not illegal, it should be.

In his letter — posted on my blog on the Sun website — Miller asks Reid, campaign manager David Cohen and finance operative Joanna Paul to produce records from the Economic Leadership PAC, which the candidate raised money for, and 90 mini-PACs created as conduits to the Reid campaign from the overall PAC. Miller asks for bank records, minutes, correspondence, any documentation to prove there was a real foundation for the conspiracy, as opposed to just a paper one.

All of the missives suggest there are “potential violations of Nevada’s election laws …” The letters are pointed and on point.

Now comes the hard part for Miller.

It could be argued the network of interlocking PACs was illegal whether or not the Reid campaign set up separate bank accounts for each shell entity that was simply used as a pass-through. Because none of the sub-PACS had any other purpose than as a two-day repository for money always destined for Reid’s campaign, they were not what they appeared to be, no matter how real they made them look.

Put it this way: There never was any independent thought process between the time Reid raised the money for the Economic Leadership PAC, most of which was then transferred to the interim PACs and then into his campaign account. That is, the way it is supposed to work is that a PAC raises money and then donates to candidates or other PACs. Once the money arrives with a person or PAC, someone with those entities could independently decide to give to yet another party — say a gubernatorial campaign.

But that’s not what happened here: There was only one decision and that was made after the three quarters of a million dollars left the Economic Leadership PAC — the money was always intended to go to Reid’s campaign, so the middle PACs may as well not have existed. Everyone involved was connected to Rory Reid.

Which raises a point Miller did not: What is a PAC?

The law says a “Committee for Political Action” is required to register with the secretary of state and must provide a name and “the purpose for which it was organized.” Also: “If the committee for political action is affiliated with any other organizations, the name, address and telephone number of each organization.”

It is obvious Team Reid did not set up these organizations with names of other counties at a Las Vegas address for the purposes of some political action. For instance, “The Elko County Progressives PAC” was not a bunch of rural liberals; it was an extension of Rory Reid’s organization. Considering who was involved, wasn’t it technically affiliated with the Reid campaign? Of course.

And the descriptions of the faux PACs were deliberately vague — “for all legal purposes” — while the master PAC’s moniker was designed to mislead and be anything but transparent: “To support candidates and organizations that promote economic development and diversification.”

Really? This PAC was designed to support one candidate, and the only purpose it was formed to promote was Rory Reid’s campaign, albeit in a diverse manner.

The PAC names may seem a minor part of the deception. But it shows the lengths they went to. Some say Team Reid found a small loophole and drove a truck through it. I say they tore apart the fabric of the state’s campaign laws from top to bottom, turning transparency and ethics on their head in a panicked attempt to infuse money into a failing campaign.

Was it outrageous? Definitely. Was it illegal? Maybe.

Either way, I am confident Ross Miller will find out and make the right decision.

•••

Program note: Tune in at 5 p.m. today on KSNV Channel 3 for a spirited debate taped Friday among the five leading contenders for Las Vegas mayor. We covered a lot of ground, with several pointed exchanges, a Bombay Sapphire mention and a declaration of love for me from the mayor’s wife.

Must-see TV.

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