Last updated on October 26, 2025
Now go back to April 2000. On April 24, 2000, Willis claimed that the Browne campaign was in debt by more than $80,000. Between April 24 and the end of the month, only a small fraction of that alleged debt could have been paid off. According to the FEC reports, at the end of the month almost no debt remained. Based on Willis’s own statement to the National Committee that all debt was required to appear on the FEC filings, and the lack of filed amendments (as of this writing) to the April and December 2000 FEC Financial Disclosures as filed under penalty of perjury, there is an inescapable conclusion: The Browne Campaign’s claims in April and December 2000 of massive debt do not correspond to actual debt. Those claims appear instead to have been fundraising schemes.
The December 10 LibertyWire also spoke to Browne’s much-promised lawsuit, reporting “there is still work to be done before the suit will be completely ready.” This statement is a bit different than earlier statements that the suit was about to be filed. The campaign further floated the promise “If, for any reason, the case isn’t filed, all that money will be refunded.”
In finer detail, payments for expenses and salary to associates of the campaign included
Jim Babka $3,643
Harry Browne $2,782
Robert Brunner $1,375
Laura Carno $1,944
Michael Cloud $1,000
Robert DeVoil $2,695
Robert Flohr $1,359
Stuart Reges $1,125
Jennifer Willis $1,000
Steve Willis $2,500
Perry Willis $500
Stephanie Yanik $3,500
Total: $22,423
or 35% of expenses. For several of the associates, pay continued even though the Campaign had ended.
Payments to firms connected to long-time associates of the campaign included:
| Optopia | $2,196 |
| New Media | $7,101 |
| Total | $9,297 |
Payments to long time associates and their firms amounted to very
| nearly 50% of all expenses. included: | Other campaign expenses for the month |
| Liam Works | $10,000 |
| Polaris Productions | $10,000 |
| Accumail | $1,705 |
| The Firm MultiMedia | $1,000 |
January-March 2001
In the first quarter of 2001 the ongoing Browne campaign received $99,634, including refunds from the Fox Theater, the National Press Club, and the campaign’s long-time landlord. The Campaign spent $94,410. Recall that these numbers are for a quarter, not for a month. One of my sources not connected with the campaign indicates that the campaign’s associates received three months’ severance pay at the campaign’s end. The source had not been aware that severance pay was a common feature of American political campaigns.
The January 21 LibertyWire reported that the Browne campaign still owed $41,000 to a single creditor: “His business faces bankruptcy unless we can pay him in the next two weeks.” Perry Willis appealed to supporters to contribute yet more. In the February 8 LibertyWire, Willis explained why the campaign was in debt: the campaign had spent its last weeks before the general election raising $100,000 for the lawsuit, money that was therefore not available to the campaign. A $41,000 creditor does not appear in the December FEC filing, but Willis acknowledged to the LNC that that filing was erroneous. Between the January announcement and the end of March, a few creditors were paid: On January 29, Liam Works received $6000. Polaris Productions received $12,500, but most of that was in March. Web Commanders received another $6,000, but again $4,000 of that was in March. No creditor was paid $41,000 during the Quarter, let alone ‘in the next two weeks’ from January 21. This unknown party does not appear to have been paid $41,000, but none of the parties paid by the Browne campaign appears to have gone out of business.
The February 8 LibertyWire, in a message from Perry Willis, reported again on the FEC lawsuit, which still had not been filed. According to Willis, the effort needed $250,000 to prepare to file, and would need another $250,000 to try the suit, all of which had to be on hand before the papers were filed. If single large donors were not available, the money would need to be raised via direct mail methods. The creditor debt was again mentioned in the March 8 LibertyWire, which reported that monthly pledges of $7,000 a month together with a direct mail appeal were expected to settle the problem.
