Commission Looks Into Gop Fund Raising

Sat., Sept. 6, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

The Public Disclosure Commission is investigating whether the state Republican Party violated election laws governing so-called “soft” and “hard” money accounts.

Susan Harris, the commission’s assistant director of compliance and enforcement, said she hopes to conclude the investigation by the end of the month.

Depending on the findings, she said the commission could decide no wrongdoing took place, hold hearings on alleged violations or refer the case to the state Attorney General’s Office.

Soft money is for party-building activities, while hard money is given to candidates.

The PDC conducted identical audits of both the state Republican and Democratic parties last spring, Harris told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. PDC auditors reviewed campaign records, including state and federal disclosure reports, bank records, contributor and expenditure lists, vendor invoices and transfers between federal and state accounts.

The elections agency gave the Democrats a clean bill, noting only minor exceptions. But the PDC withheld the GOP audit and used it as the basis of the current investigation, Harris said.

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