Nevada Democrats Ask For Fed Probe of Illegal Coordination Between Angle Campaign, Tarkanian Group

Angle also accepts huge illegal in-kind donations from Tarkanian and his committee

Today the Nevada State Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over illegal coordination by GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s U.S. Senate campaign and former primary opponent Danny Tarkanian’s political committee. ***View the complaint here.***

Angle and her campaign continue to illegally recruit and coordinate with Tarkanian and his Harry Reid Votes independent expenditure – providing Tarkanian with talking points, recruiting him to attend events to campaign for her and even sending him to a candidate forum in Sun City Summerlin tonight. Tarkanian has made public appearances on Angle’s behalf – and even with Angle – on several occasions.
 
And Tarkanian, helpful as ever, went so far as to admit on Jon Ralston’s Face to Face that he was wearing “many hats” in his roles as both an “independent” operator and an agent of the Angle campaign.

The coordination between Angle and her DC handlers and Danny Tarkanian makes the expenditures of Tarkanian’s committee – on radio ads, a website and numerous media appearances in recent weeks – an illegal in-kind contribution to Angle’s campaign well in excess of the legal limit of $5,000.
 
The committee also illegally uses Harry Reid’s name in its title and its ads include an improper disclaimer.
 
These illegal activities by Angle and her campaign are punishable by serious civil and criminal penalties, including fines.
 
Despite the fact that Angle and her campaign are aware that Tarkanian set up the political committee – and that Tarkanian has been one of the worst surrogates ever, continually highlighting Angle’s extreme and dangerous positions “Second Amendment remedies” and other issues – they have reached out to Tarkanian to campaign illegally on Angle’s behalf anyway.  Angle has engaged him as an agent to appear on her behalf at The Gun Store and tonight’s Sun City Summerlin candidates forum, among other events and media appearances.
 
This FEC violation comes as a tanking Angle campaign looks for help from any direction, even though Republicans are leaving her in droves or just downright being unhelpful.
 
“Sharron Angle's handlers will do or say anything to hide her extreme and dangerous agenda from Nevadans, including illegal coordination with their wanna-be hatchet-man surrogate Danny Tarkanian," said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “Federal election laws exist to maintain transparency and protect the integrity of our system, but Sharron Angle and her new DC handlers have decided they're above the law. Sharron Angle must stop these illegal activities immediately. Nevada voters deserve better."