Fred Thompson/campaign finance

The following relates to Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), who is seeking the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election.

Controversial contributions

 * Kenneth P. Vogel, "Fred donors' firm tied to Medicaid scandal," The Politico, September 7, 2007.

Skirting election law?

 * Lane Hudson, "FEC Complaint filed against Fred Thompson," News For The Left Blogspot, August 20, 2007.
 * Jake Tapper, "Is Fred Thompson Skirting Election Law?" Political Punch Blog/ABC News, August 20, 2007.

Friends of Fred Thompson Inc.
On June 4, 2007, Thompson "filed a charter for a non-profit corporation" for the Friends of Fred Thompson with the Tennessee Secretary of State.

A week later, on June 11, 2007, the Friends of Fred Thompson Inc. "registered with the I.R.S. as a Section 527 account and did not claim an exemption as a qualified state political organization. They will be required to file disclosure reports of their donors. The contact person is Joseph A. Woodruff in Nashville, TN. Other officers and directors include Hon. Winfield Dunn, Lin S. Howard, Joseph A. Woodruff, Samuel W. Bartholomew Jr., John Ryder, and Edwin S. Roberson. Their stated purpose - 'Organized exclusively to (1) promote the potential candidacy of Fred Thompson for the office of President of the United States, and (2) to do and carry on any lawful business or activity whatsoever in connection with the foregoing that is calculated, directly or indirectly, to promote or support the aforesaid purpose of the Corporation, or that results from the aforesaid purpose with and pursuant to the terms of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended.'"

The Fred D. Thompson PAC
Thompson's political action committee, The Fred D. Thompson PAC (ID #C00325498), filed a termination report for the period April 1-30, 2007, showing disbursements of $33,004, with $26,850 in charitable contributions ($4,800 to the Boys and Girls Club; $3,000 to Mending Hearts; $2,450 to Sich, USA; $4,800 to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital; and $5,000 to the Best Friends Foundation), $4,000 to other candidates or committees (Alexander for Senate 2008), and $2,000 as a management/consulting fee to Daniel Thompson Associates.

On June 12, 2007, the Fred D. Thompson PAC "paid a civil penalty of $450 for late filing of their 2006 12 Day Pre-General Election report."

Bundlers
Public Citizen relaunched the WhiteHouseForSale website for the 2008 elections.


 * As of July 27, 2007, Fred Thompson had 21 bundlers for a total of $0.00 raised. Follow Fred Thompson's total funds raised and a list of bundlers and amount raised here.

Check the facts
FundRace 2008, The Huffington Post's searchable database: "FundRace makes it easy to search by name or address to see which presidential candidates your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors are contributing to. Or you can see if your favorite celebrity is putting their money where their mouth is."