By ROBERT PEAR
Published: July 17, 2010
Published: July 17, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Biden for President campaign committee owes the Treasury more than $219,000 because it accepted excessive campaign contributions and understated the value of a trip taken on a private plane in the 2008 campaign, the Federal Election Commission said in a new report.
Auditors from the agency found numerous violations of campaign finance rules by the committee that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. used in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr. Biden’s press secretary, Elizabeth Alexander, said Saturday that he would pay the amount owed.
The report paints a picture of sloppy bookkeeping by Mr. Biden’s campaign. But aides to the vice president said the errors were relatively minor. The excess contributions were less than 1 percent of the total raised by the campaign, they said.
The Biden campaign received more than $2 million in federal matching money. Federal law requires the commission to conduct audits to determine if candidates were entitled to all the money they received and if they used it in compliance with the law.
Auditors found that the Biden campaign committee had accepted an improper “in-kind” contribution in the form of a round-trip flight on a private plane between New Hampshire and Iowa.
The campaign paid $7,911 to GEH Air Transportation, but should have paid the charter rate, which is much higher, the auditors said. The Biden campaign committee agreed to make up the difference by paying $26,889 to the Treasury.
The commission also found that the Biden campaign had accepted many contributions exceeding the legal limit of $2,300 per election from any one person.
Mr. Biden’s campaign committee agreed to pay $106,216, representing the amount of the excessive contributions.
In addition, the campaign agreed to reimburse the government for $85,900 worth of checks issued by the campaign but never cashed by the payees.
Some of those checks were refunds sent to donors whose campaign contributions exceeded the legal limit. Aides to Mr. Biden said he had no control over the donors’ failure to cash the checks.
The audit, reported by Politico on its Web site, found that the Biden campaign had not adequately disclosed more than $3.7 million in spending and $870,000 in debts. The campaign filed amended reports to correct the errors and omissions.
Ms. Alexander, the press secretary, played down the problems.
“Some repayment is commonplace after presidential campaign audits, and the repayment ordered here is relatively small,” Ms. Alexander said. “Payment is due to the Treasury 30 days after the F.E.C. issues its formal ruling, and Biden for President will comply with that.”
Auditors said the campaign could not document a number of statements it made about the handling of campaign contributions.
Mr. Biden declared his candidacy in January 2007, but never generated as much excitement or raised as much money as two of his rivals, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mr. Biden pulled out of the race in January 2008 after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. Less than eight months later, he became Mr. Obama’s running mate.
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Auditors from the agency found numerous violations of campaign finance rules by the committee that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. used in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mr. Biden’s press secretary, Elizabeth Alexander, said Saturday that he would pay the amount owed.
The report paints a picture of sloppy bookkeeping by Mr. Biden’s campaign. But aides to the vice president said the errors were relatively minor. The excess contributions were less than 1 percent of the total raised by the campaign, they said.
The Biden campaign received more than $2 million in federal matching money. Federal law requires the commission to conduct audits to determine if candidates were entitled to all the money they received and if they used it in compliance with the law.
Auditors found that the Biden campaign committee had accepted an improper “in-kind” contribution in the form of a round-trip flight on a private plane between New Hampshire and Iowa.
The campaign paid $7,911 to GEH Air Transportation, but should have paid the charter rate, which is much higher, the auditors said. The Biden campaign committee agreed to make up the difference by paying $26,889 to the Treasury.
The commission also found that the Biden campaign had accepted many contributions exceeding the legal limit of $2,300 per election from any one person.
Mr. Biden’s campaign committee agreed to pay $106,216, representing the amount of the excessive contributions.
In addition, the campaign agreed to reimburse the government for $85,900 worth of checks issued by the campaign but never cashed by the payees.
Some of those checks were refunds sent to donors whose campaign contributions exceeded the legal limit. Aides to Mr. Biden said he had no control over the donors’ failure to cash the checks.
The audit, reported by Politico on its Web site, found that the Biden campaign had not adequately disclosed more than $3.7 million in spending and $870,000 in debts. The campaign filed amended reports to correct the errors and omissions.
Ms. Alexander, the press secretary, played down the problems.
“Some repayment is commonplace after presidential campaign audits, and the repayment ordered here is relatively small,” Ms. Alexander said. “Payment is due to the Treasury 30 days after the F.E.C. issues its formal ruling, and Biden for President will comply with that.”
Auditors said the campaign could not document a number of statements it made about the handling of campaign contributions.
Mr. Biden declared his candidacy in January 2007, but never generated as much excitement or raised as much money as two of his rivals, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Mr. Biden pulled out of the race in January 2008 after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. Less than eight months later, he became Mr. Obama’s running mate.
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