Jonathan Stempel
Reuters
1/23/2014
Dinesh D’Souza, a conservative commentator and best-selling author, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for arranging excessive campaign contributions to a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
According to an indictment made public on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, D’Souza around August 2012 reimbursed people who he had directed to contribute $20,000 to the candidate’s campaign. The candidate was not named in the indictment.
Attempts to reach D’Souza and a lawyer representing him were unsuccessful.
D’Souza was charged in the indictment with one count of making illegal contributions in the names of others, and one count of causing false statements to be made.
Federal law in 2012 limited primary and general election campaign contributions to $2,500 each, for a total of $5,000, from any individual to any one candidate.
“As we have long said, this Office and the FBI take a zero tolerance approach to corruption of the electoral process,” the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said in a statement released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bharara is an Obama appointee….
The article continues at Reuters.
CAJ note: It’s obviously just a coincidence, of course, but it might be worth remembering this from Valerie Jarrett.
Update: At The Right Scoop:
Here’s more from The Hollywood Reporter, as tweeted by Dinesh D’Souza on Twitter, where D’Souza’s co-producer on the film says it is politically motivated, that D’Souza’s being singled out for a minor violation…
…D’Souza first learned he was being investigated in the middle of 2013, several months after 2016 had earned $33 million at the box office and become the second most popular political documentary in U.S. history. The film included an interview with Obama’s half brother, George Obama, who was mildly critical of the president.
Molen says D’Souza is being singled out for “an alleged minor violation” in the same way the IRS reportedly targeted conservative Tea Party groups for retribution. “In light of the recent events and the way the IRS has been used to stifle dissent, this arrest should send shivers down the spines of all freedom-loving Americans,” Molen says…
Update 2: Maker of Highly Successful Anti-Obama Documentary Indicted for Allegedly Violating U.S. Election Law
