The Republican Party of Virginia has filed a complaint against the Democratic Attorney Generals Association related to $680,000 in contributions made by the DAGA to Democratic Party attorney general nominee Mark Herring since August.
In the complaint, the RPV claims that the DAGA isn’t properly registered in Virginia as a political committee and hasn’t disclosed its donors.
If that is the case, it could trigger a dollar-for-dollar fine against the Herring campaign.
Reached for comment, Herring campaign spokesman Matt Wojtkun told Augusta Free Press that the campaign has “reported all of our contributions in full accordance with Virginia’s laws and have disclosed every donation we have received to date.”
Chris Jankowski, the president of the Republican State Leadership Association, issued a statement on behalf of the Republican Attorneys General Association on the complaint.
“Mark Herring wants to be Virginia’s top law enforcement officer, but how can we trust him in that role when he has accepted more than $600,000 in illegal funds from a political action committee that ignored Virginia state law?” Jankowski said. “The Republican Governors Association, Democratic Governors Association and RSLC are all following the rules of disclosing their contributions on the same day they are made, but Mark Herring’s largest supporter, the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), attempted to receive a tactical advantage by refusing to follow the law. They knew that not reporting a large, unanticipated contribution provided the Herring campaign with the strategic advantage of hiding his media budget, something that campaigns and committees that follow the law are unable to do, in the closing weeks of the campaign. It is also worth noting that DAGA has not disclosed any donors since July 1, 2013, even with the Internal Revenue Service.
“Virginians deserve an attorney general that they can trust to understand and follow the rule of law. We demand that Mark Herring do the right thing and return these illegal funds immediately,” Jankowski said.
An attempt to reach the Democratic Attorney Generals Association for comment on the story was not successful.
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