FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2012
Contact: Ryan Call (303) 758-3333

Colorado Republican Party Calls for FEC Investigation into Haney

GREENWOOD VILLAGE -- Today, the Colorado Republican Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to immediately open an investigation into Democrat Perry Haney, candidate for Congressional District 6.

"Haney violated the 'testing the waters' phase in his bid for Congress, and voters of the sixth district deserve to know what Haney is hiding," said Chairman Ryan Call.  “If Haney is already hiding his actions from voters, just imagine what he’d do if he were elected to Congress."

The complaint states that while Haney had officially filed his candidacy with the FEC in late October 2011, he directly violated FEC regulations by running both an exploratory committee and a congressional committee simultaneously under the guise of two different groups.

According to FEC reports, on June 6 and July 19, Haney funneled a total of $51,000 of his own money into his campaign account.  Despite acting and directing money like a congressional candidate for months, Haney never filed with the FEC until two months passed.

Then on August 19, Haney created a YouTube channel, "Haney for Congress,” and on August 31, he uploaded a video about his run for office with links to both his campaign and exploratory committee website.

The testing the waters provision does not allow Haney to refer to himself as a candidate without triggering registration and reporting requirements with the FEC.  Under FEC regulations, Haney should have filed a statement of candidacy 15 days after that post, and a statement of organization 10 days after that. But he never did.

Furthermore, earlier this month Haney misreported how much money was in his campaign account by more than $330,000, forcing him to amend his report.

“These violations of FEC regulations must be investigated and appropriately reprimanded immediately,” Call said. “No one is above the law, but Haney apparently believes that his attempts at skirting these campaign finance laws will go unnoticed.  Voters should be able to trust our elected officials and not always wonder, 'what they are hiding?'”

To see the complaint as sent to the FEC, please click here.

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