A recent revelation from emails found on Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop has shed light on a potentially controversial exchange involving Kamala Harris's campaign and allies of Joe Biden.
According to The New York Post, Harris's team offered $1,000 for access to donor lists before she was considered for a board seat on the Beau Biden Foundation in late 2015. This exchange has raised questions about the ethical implications and potential legal issues surrounding campaign finance and charitable organizations.
The emails, dated December 30, 2015, show that Josh Alcorn, a top adviser to Beau Biden, informed Hunter Biden and Hallie Biden about the offer from Harris's campaign. The proposed transaction involved transferring the money to Beau Biden's campaign before moving it to the foundation. This convoluted process has caught the attention of experts who suggest it may have violated federal election law and the foundation's tax-exempt status.
Former Federal Election Commission (FEC) officials have weighed in on the matter, highlighting the complexities of such transactions. While donor list swaps are common and legal among campaigns when fair market value is exchanged, the involvement of a charitable organization raises red flags.
Michael Toner, a former FEC chairman, emphasized that charitable organizations should not engage in transactions with partisan campaign committees. This statement underscores the potential breach of ethical boundaries in the proposed exchange.
Hans von Spakovsky, another former FEC commissioner, explained that if the foundation had provided a donor list worth significantly more than the $1,000 offered, it could have resulted in an illegal corporate contribution. The discrepancy in value between the lists exchanged could violate campaign contribution limits.
The Beau Biden Foundation, as a registered 501(c)(3) corporation, is subject to strict regulations regarding political activities. In its 2016 tax filings, the foundation reported no engagement in political campaign activities, either directly or indirectly.
However, the proposed transaction involving Harris's campaign and the foundation's donor list raises questions about the accuracy of these filings. If the exchange had been completed as described in the emails, it could have potentially jeopardized the foundation's tax-exempt status.
The foundation's first year of operation in 2016 saw it receive over $535,000 in contributions, gifts, and grants. The involvement in political campaign activities, even indirectly, could have serious implications for its nonprofit status.
On January 12, 2016, shortly after the initial email exchange, Alcorn floated the idea of offering Harris a seat on the foundation's board. This suggestion, coming so close to the proposed financial transaction, has raised eyebrows among campaign finance experts.
Bradley Smith, another former FEC chairman, pointed out that such arrangements could potentially raise bribery questions. The proximity of the financial offer to the board seat consideration has led to speculation about the motivations behind these discussions.
It's worth noting that Harris never accepted the position on the foundation's board, which is an unpaid role according to tax filings. However, the mere suggestion of such an arrangement in the context of a financial transaction has fueled concerns about the ethical implications of the proposed exchange.
The emails from Hunter Biden's laptop have brought to light a complex web of proposed transactions involving Kamala Harris's campaign, Joe Biden's allies, and the Beau Biden Foundation. The offer of $1,000 for donor lists, followed by considerations of a board seat, has raised questions about potential violations of campaign finance laws and the ethical use of charitable organizations. While the full extent of these discussions and their outcomes remains unclear, the revelations have sparked a debate about the intersection of politics, charitable work, and campaign finance regulations.
