Frivolous complaint aimed at distracting public from corruption scandal

Written by: Tegan R on Aug 4, 2008 11:58 AM EDT

(Disclaimer: This post is from a Mark Begich campaign press release. I do not work for Begich's campaign, but I am an intern at Democracy for America.)

7.31.08

The campaign of U.S. Senate candidate Mark Begich today responded to a complaint filed by the Republican Party of Alaska as frivolous and politically-motivated. The Republican Party filed a complaint with the Alaska Public Offices Commission claiming Begich inaccurately filed financial disclosure statements. 

“The Begich campaign is reviewing the complaint filed by the Alaska Republican Party but it appears they failed to even pull Begich’s complete disclosure package,” said campaign press secretary Julie Hasquet. “As a result, their claims are inaccurate.”

“The Republican Party was so quick to try and distract from its own issues, they didn’t even get their facts straight. You can’t ignore the irony of the politically-motivated attack filed on the same day Sen. Ted Stevens is arraigned in federal court on seven felony counts related to accepting illegal gifts valued at over $250,000 from VECO. 

“Mark Begich believes strongly in full disclosure, always fills out his financial disclosure forms in great detail and often beyond what’s required, and has posted 18 years of financial disclosure reports on his campaign website. If any problems are found with his recent filings, the reports will be corrected immediately.

“It could not be more obvious that the Republican Party of Alaska is attempting to distract the public from the corruption scandal and the legal issues surrounding Senator Stevens. Sen. Stevens is the first sitting U.S. Senator to be indicted in 15 years.”

Hasquet noted the complaint was filed the same day the Republican Party of Alaska is returning nearly $35,000 in financial gifts from VECO.

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