A former campaign aide for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann charged in a filing with the Federal Election Commission that the failed presidential candidate hid thousands of dollars in payment to an Iowa state senator so he would not violate Senate ethics rules.
But an attorney for the Minnesota congresswoman has denied the allegations.
The former aide, Dr. Peter Waldron, alleged several campaign-finance violations in the FEC in a complaint filed on Tuesday, the local news website
WCFCourier.com in Waterloo, Iowa, reports.
Waldron, an evangelist, served as Bachmann’s national field coordinator from July 2011 to January 2012. His job reportedly was to reach out to Christian conservatives.
In particular, Waldron said that GOP Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson was paid $7,500 a month for his role as Iowa state chairman for the Bachmann campaign.
“I’m not talking about any of this,” Sorenson told WCFCourier.com when reached at his home on Thursday. “I know nothing about how people were paid in the campaign.”
When asked if he was paid by the Bachmann campaign, Sorenson responded: “No. This has been hashed out over the last year and a half. You can look at the articles. I stand by all my previous statements.”
In the complaint, Waldron said the payments were funneled through a third party, C&M Strategies of Colorado operated by Guy Short, WCFCourier.com reports.
Essentially, the Bachmann campaign overpaid C&M Strategies for its work, Waldron said in the complaint, and C&M Strategies then paid Sorenson for his work on behalf of the Bachmann campaign.
If true, the scheme that Waldron alleges may violate Senate ethics rule against state senators being employed for pay by political campaigns, WCFCourier.com reports.
Short could not be reached for comment.
Sorenson left the Bachmann campaign and endorsed then U.S. Rep. Ron Paul for president in late December 2011 — days before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.
Bachmann, who months before won the state Republican Straw Poll in Ames, finished sixth behind Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry.
She suspended her campaign shortly after and subsequently won re-election to her Minnesota congressional seat, WCFCourier.com reports.
In an email to Newsmax on Thursday, Bachmann’s attorney, William McGinley, denied Waldron’s accusations.
“Bachmann for President denies the allegations contained in the complaint filed with the FEC and intends to file an appropriate response,” McGinley said in the statement. “We are confident that this matter will be resolved in the campaign’s favor.”
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.