Joe Biden's supporters were skeptical that Kamala Harris was “ready” for the national spotlight during his 2016 campaign for the U.S. Senate, but after her campaign dangled a $1,000 donation in an email left on her son Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop, they seemed happy to offer up a donor list and even a seat on the Beau Biden Foundation's board of directors.
Experts told The Washington Post this week that the complicated deal, if it had gone through, would have ignored the foundation's tax-exempt status and potentially violated federal election law.
Supporters of Harris, who was then California's attorney general, made the unusual request to Beau Biden's top political and fundraising adviser, Josh Alcorn, in late 2015, months after the former Delaware attorney general died of brain cancer.
“FYI, I was contacted by the Kamala Harris campaign and they are willing to pay around $1,000 for access to their email list,” Alcorn wrote. Email of December 30th To Hunter and Hallie Biden, Beau's widow.
“That money [Beau Biden] “The funds are raised for the campaign and then transferred to the foundation,” Alcorn, who ran the Beau Biden Foundation for Children's Protection from January 2016 until June 2021, explained on his LinkedIn profile.
“I think that's a good thing, and we'll figure out how to get some names and email addresses from her after the general election,” he added. “This isn't a foundation issue, it's just a campaign closeout issue. If either of them have any objections, please let me know.”
On January 12, 2016 Just two weeks after that exchange, Alcorn nominated Harris as an additional candidate for the foundation's board of directors.
The email exchange ended with Alcorn telling Hunter Biden he would “try to schedule a conference call with Attorney General Harris.”
Three former Federal Election Commission (FEC) commissioners told The Washington Post that exchanging donor lists is common and legal between political campaigns as long as each side pays fair market value.
But the diversion of payments to Harris to the foundation in exchange for the donor list came despite the Bidens disclosing months ago that they would be donating Beau's campaign funds to the foundation. Donate to the Foundation — That would have been another matter.
“Charities should not be involved in transactions with partisan election committees,” said Michael Toner, who chaired the FEC in 2006 and served as commissioner from 2002 to 2007.
“If a foundation uses its donor list to raise $100,000 and then gives that list to Kamala Harris' campaign for $1,000, that's far more than they can give,” explained Hans von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commissioner who served from 2006 to 2007.
“They're not charging fair market value and that's how the FEC looks at this stuff,” he added, and now $2,000 limit It is based on the amount a campaign can donate to other campaigns.
“The fair market value of the list that Campaign A provides to Campaign B is $1,000, which is fine because it's within the $2,000 limit,” von Spakovsky continues, “But let's say Campaign B's donor list is worth $4,000. They just swapped lists. It's an unfair exchange, and Campaign B would end up donating $3,000 to Campaign A, which is illegal because it violates the $2,000 donation limit.”
He said if the donor list was from the foundation itself, it would also constitute an “illegal corporate donation.”
The Beau Biden Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation that received just over $535,000 in donations, gifts and grants in its first fiscal year, 2016, according to the foundation. Form 990 tax return To the IRS.
The filing also states that the foundation answered “no” to the question, “Has the organization engaged in direct or indirect political campaigning activity supporting or opposing a candidate for public office?”
Making such donations in exchange for a board position or other appointment “may raise more direct bribery allegations,” said Bradley Smith, who served as FEC chairman in 2004 and as commissioner from 2000 to 2005.
According to tax returns, Harris never accepted a trustee position with the foundation, and the position does not come with compensation.
It's also unclear whether the Harris campaign funneled donations to Beau Biden's now-disbanded campaign fundraising committee, his PAC or another group, such as the Draft Biden super PAC that Alcorn led.
Joe Biden announced in October 2015 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination, ceding the party's “mainstream” to Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump in the November 2016 general election.
Draft Biden PAC was shut down in April 2016. Baugh's committees, Delaware Biden and Baugh PAC, were dissolved in late 2015, according to FEC filings.
The Washington Post reviewed Federal Election Commission filings from the Harris 2016 campaign, the Draft Biden super PAC and state election boards with ties to Beau Biden, but found no direct dealings from the future California senator to Biden's fundraising campaigns.
But Harris' PAC did donate $1,000 for “database services” to NGP Van Inc. on Jan. 5, 2016, six days after Alcorn wrote his first email about the proposed exchange. NGP Van is a major Democratic campaign fundraising and campaign platform. Donor Survey.
Other emails stored on Hunter's laptop reveal a long-term effort to bring Harris into Biden's sphere of influence, even as allies warned that she “wouldn't be a great candidate” if Joe were to enter the 2016 presidential race.
“There are no great options,” said Alexander Mackler, Biden's former press secretary. Email dated August 6, 2015 We spoke to Eric Schwerin, a business associate of Hunter and the Biden family, about potential vice presidential candidates.
“It has to be mostly women,” added Mackler, who served as deputy counsel to Biden when he was vice president and also worked on Beau's 2010 reelection campaign for attorney general. “Kamala is a no-no (she's campaigning, [sic] “Doesn't pass the 'ready' test.”
“If Kamara says no, I would recommend Patrick Lynch or Jack Conaway,” Muckler said. Email of January 22ndAn apparent reference to the former attorney general of Rhode Island and the Sussex County executive in Delaware, who are close to the Biden family.
Other notables nominated for the foundation's board of directors include former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Delaware adjutant and Army National Guard Gen. Francis Barbara, former Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Jackie Dodd, wife of former Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, and NBC News' “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper was also listed as “another media member.”
The Harris campaign, the Beau Biden Foundation and Alcorn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
