The Politics Hour
Virginia lawmakers fail to beat the buzzer in their budget debate, forcing an overtime session later this month. D.C. politicians confront a full court press of subpoenas related to their campaign finances. And just in time for March Madness, Maryland gears up for another debate about casino gambling. Join us for our weekly review of the politics, policies, and personalities of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Guests
Politics Hour Extra
WAMU 88.5's Patrick Madden talks about information he uncovered about suspicious money orders tying the friends and associates of Jeffrey Thompson, one of D.C.'s most prolific political donors, to Council member Vincent Orange and some other city leaders:
Milad Pooran talks about his commitment to women's rights issues and how in his view, none of his opponents have given the area much attention:
Comments
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The issue of what is legal and what is illegal in campaign contributions is complicated, as you & your guests noted. The only thing we know about the contributions by Mr Thompson is that they are suspicious looking. No one has indicated what might be wrong about them.
They look like they all came from the same person, but why would someone do this? If it's just to make it look like the candidate has wide support, is that illegal? Or if you add these contributions up and it turns out they are all from Mr. Thompson, has Mr Thompson exceeded an individual donation limit?
Is he hiding his identity because he expects something in return for these contributions and was trying to avoid them being linked back to him?
I think one of your callers expressed the confusion your listeners have about this issue. What makes this set of contributions different/illegal compared to all the other contributions candidates receive?
It seems that so far all you have told us is that there is smoke not what may be causing it.