Historically, the LNC has routinely paid its credit card debt on time. That’s better than renting the money from the bank, which is what credit card debt is. However, last Summer, that process came to an end, though at first it was not correctly reflected in the FEC filings. We quote the letter from LNC Treasurer Bill Redpath to the FEC, explaining the error. (In defense of various LNC people it appears that the LNC had not done this recently, and no one who actually handled the numbers realized that they had missed something.) (Hat tip to Stewart Flood for calling this issue to our attention.)
The letter notes that there $10,655 of credit card in June, and that by July and August that debt had been paid down to $9988, but there was also new debt in the amount of $19,196. That’s a lot of debt racking up interest rather than being paid off.
In addition, as part of the Joint Victory Fund, the LNC was paying Kennedy expenses, but it was not told about some of them until after the relevant FEC report was filed.
Dear Mr. Hempel: This letter is in response to your inquiry dated October 28, 2024 concerning the reports cited above. The Committee's practice prior to June was to pay its credit card bills in full each month, so there was no outstanding balance to disclose on Schedule D, Line 10. In June, the Committee made the minimum payment for the credit card but did not disclose the $10,655.69 balance due. The September activity also should have reflected a balance due from the credit card bill that was not disclosed on the original report. This balance consisted of the remaining undisclosed $9,988.69 balance from the June activity and $19,196.48 balance from July and August activity. In addition, the Libertarian National Committee assumed responsibility for paying expenses of Team Kennedy as Party Coordinated Expenditures. These accounts payable were not received until after the report was filed and were included in the October 10, 2024 amendment. The Committee will file an amended September monthly report to clarify these questions. Please contact me if you have any questions. William Redpath Treasurer
The party of fiscal responsibility is clearly so what I say not what I do. We need new leadership before it’s too late.
On the surface all the actions of the chair following the convention appear to be turning the LP into a pro-gop group and/or putting an end to the LP to pull people back into the GOP.
One can assume that to whatever level dinosaurs were capable of rational thought, if any, the last generation of dinosaurs were probably not aware that they were extinct.
Something else just came to mind. If they took over responsibility for the debts for Team Kennedy in September, why did neither Team Kennedy or the LNC file something with the FEC in September, indicating they were no longer responsible for their debt, but that the LNC was? Or in October?
The letter clearly indicates that expenses for Team Kennedy were included in a modified filing, yet there is no other indication to the FEC that they have taken over responsibility for these debts. Or if there was an indication, both Dr. Phillies and I have overlooked it in our separate readings of filings.
Who made the decision to take over what appears to me in the end of September to be a balance owed of roughly 3.3 million when you subtract their cash on hand from the debt at the time.
The statement is that they took over responsibility for expenses. Expenses normally include outstanding debt. Some further clarification is certainly needed.
Again, who made this decision and when? And why was this not publicly reported? Or was it and it was in what is sometimes called adata dump, hidden among a bunch of other items?
And Team Kennedy is making some very shady expenditures that they are having to explain to the FEC.
Out of control deficit spending by…the Libertarian Party? Way to lead by example. If Mises Caucus intended to win over the public by controlling the messaging around what a libertarian is, they failed bigly.
And look at the debt The team Kennedy has. The LNC assumed responsibility for their expenses. We don’t have the post election filings yet, but they reported in October owing quite a bit of money. And when I say quite a bit, it looked like a very large and sober number. I would say what it is, but there were so many digits in it I might’ve miscounted them. And who knows, maybe they paid off that debt before the LNC took over responsibility.
Is it legal for the libertarian party to take over the debt of a campaign? Have they ever done this, even for a libertarian campaign? I could certainly understand a party doing that, but as we all know, they have left every candidate in the past who owed money at the end of the election, with the responsibility of paying off their debt by themselves.
Why take over the expenses of a campaign that is not even the libertarian party’s own nominee? This seems to me to be unethical, and possibly illegal.
If I were still in the libertarian party, I would consider it clear grounds for impeachment of every member of the national committee that voted to do it.