Jeb Bush SMACKED with a huge FEC fine for taking Chinese donations in 2016 campaign

The FEC just doled out a huge fine to the super PAC of Jeb Bush, Right to Rise, for taking two big donations from a Chinese firm for his 2016 campaign for president.

They also fined the Chinese firm as well:

POLITICO – The Federal Election Commission on Monday doled out $940,000 in fines to the super PAC that backed Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential bid and a Chinese-owned corporation that made illegal donations to it.

The unusually large FEC fines came after the commission found evidence Bush’s super PAC took money from a foreign national, which is prohibited under federal election law. The super PAC, Right to Rise, was fined $390,000 for the violation, while the FEC gave an additional $550,000 fine to American Pacific International Capital, Inc. The company had donated $1.3 million to Bush’s super PAC in the spring of 2015, as Bush was gearing up for a run for president.

The donation came after Jeb Bush’s brother Neil, who sits on the board of APIC, discussed a contribution in February 2015 with Gordon Tang, another APIC board member who is a Chinese national. In total, two Chinese nationals communicated about the donation, according to documents released by the FEC.

APIC gave $1 million to Right to Rise in March, and the company followed up with another $300,000 in June.

The reason Jeb Bush’s super PAC was fined was because they solicited the donation from the Chinese national.

However, Politico points out that the FEC “did not find that the donations were “knowing and willful” violations of the law.”

So I guess that means that they didn’t realize the contribution was illegal?

Make of it what you will.


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