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Tillis’ Shady Fundraising Tactics in the Spotlight as New Ethics Complaint Alleges Use of Official Committee Position to Boost His Campaign

New Findings Come as National Republican-Linked Group Spends Millions to Meddle in North Carolina Democratic Primary, Prop Up Tillis

The North Carolina Democratic Party has filed an ethics complaint against Senator Thom Tillis, alleging Tillis was trying to “cash in” on his position on the Senate Judiciary Committee to fundraise for his re-election campaign. The Raleigh News & Observer reports: “The complaint says Tillis violated the law and the Senate Code of Office Conduct ‘by misusing official resources for campaign purposes.’

Ever since he “flip[ped] like a fish on a dock” on the sham emergency declaration that allowed the White House to raid $80 million from North Carolina military installations, Tillis and Washington Republicans have been turning to increasingly desperate tactics to try to compensate for his nonexistent credibility. Now, in a frantic effort to prop up Tillis, it appears his Washington Republican allies are spending millions of dollars to try to meddle in North Carolina’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

Read more about Senator Tillis’ ethics problems:

INDY Week: In Ethics Complaint, NC Dems Say Thom Tillis Tried to Cash in on Impeachment

  • Thom Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tried to cash in on President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial through a fundraising email, the North Carolina Democratic Party alleged in an ethics complaint on Thursday. 
  • The complaint, filed to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, says Tillis violated federal law by sending an email from his campaign on January 21—in the middle of an impeachment trial in which Tillis was a juror sworn to do “impartial” justice—asking for donations to a “Presidential Protection Fund.”
  • The Dems say the fundraising email constituted a misuse of official resources. In addition, they say, Tillis isn’t supposed to raise money “for or because of specific official actions,” the complaint says. It asks for an investigation and “appropriate remedial action.”

Wake Weekly: Political Notebook: Dems accuse Tillis of fundraising ethics violation

  • The North Carolina Democratic Party filed an ethics complained against U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis last week, claiming he improperly used his office to support his reelection.
  • Tillis “tried to cash in” on his position as a U.S. senator for North Carolina, state party spokesman Robert Howard said in a Monday release.
  • “Senator Tillis improperly used his official position to support his reelection campaign, misusing official resources for campaign purposes and fundraising off his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a complaint filed by the NCDP,” Howard said.
  • The complaint to Senate Select Committee on Ethics Chairman James Lankford accuses Tillis of violating a federal law that forbids the use of official resources to conduct campaign or political activities.
  • Tillis sent a Jan. 21 fundraising email from the sender name “Judiciary Committee Member” and asked Tillis campaign supporters to donate to a “Presidential Protection Fund” before the Senate impeachment hearing began, the complaint letter states.
  • N.C. Democratic Party Executive Director Meredith Cuomo wrote that Tillis broke the law by “sending this email in his capacity as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and claiming that a contribution to his campaign committee will directly support efforts to protect the president.”

Raleigh News & Observer: NC Democrats file ethics complaint against Tillis. His campaign calls it ‘frivolous’

  • The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a Senate ethics complaint against Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, alleging he improperly used his official position to support his re-election campaign.
  • The complaint, sent to the Senate Ethics Committee on Friday, centers on a Jan. 21 fundraising email from Tillis’ Senate campaign.
  • The Tillis email asked recipients to “make a contribution to our Presidential Protection Fund before the Senate trial begins to ensure we have the resources to FIGHT BACK against the Democrats.”
  • On Jan. 21, the Senate started debate on rules for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
  • The email sender was listed as “Judiciary Committee Member” and the email was signed “Sen. Thom Tillis Judiciary Committee Member.”
  • The complaint says Tillis violated the law and the Senate Code of Office Conduct “by misusing official resources for campaign purposes.” It argues that Tillis’ use of “Judiciary Committee Member” as the sender of the email constitutes use of official resources.
  • The complaint further alleges asking for donations before the trial started is a “clear request for campaign contributions in exchange for and because of” Tillis’ official acts as a senator. 
  • Tillis, a former N.C. House speaker who was elected to the Senate in 2014, is one of the Democrats’ top targets in 2020.

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