Report: RNC Procedures Aren't Followed
A measure intended to cut down on wasteful and excessive spending at the RNC is not being followed, contributing to a culture of financial abuses, according to an internal report.
The report, obtained by Hotline OnCall, details lax financial controls that allowed an outside consultant to be reimbursed for nearly $2K spent at a risque Hollywood nightclub. What's more, an internal review found the party is paying hundreds of thousands of extra dollars to consultants who already draw salaries from the committee.
RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen, an accountant by trade, described the sloppy processes used by committee staffers in a report to fellow members. While policies in place should be sufficient to prevent abuse, those policies aren't being followed, Pullen found.
The review began after a CA GOP consultant was reimbursed for the nightclub expense. Pullen interviewed top officials at the RNC, including finance director Rob Bickhart, whose initials approved the expense. Bickhart has told RNC officials that a lower level staffer, Allison Meyers, signed Bickhart's initials. Meyers was fired after the nightclub expense came to light.
Doug Heye, the RNC's communications director, would not comment on the internal document.
Much of the out of control spending takes place in the finance department, according to Pullen's report. Last year, Pullen and Boyd Rutherford, the RNC's administration director, suggested drastically cutting back on the number of party-issued credit cards; that proposal was shot down, thanks to the finance department. After news of the nightclub expense leaked, the party took away the finance departments cards. Now, only Rutherford and Steele have party-issued cards.
Meanwhile, Bickhart has used a contract with the RNC to pad his own salary. The committee has a contract with Bickhart's company, eCapitol Direct, that provides the company with $22.5K for every $9M the committee raises through direct marketing sources. In his report, Pullen estimated the party will pay Bickhart's company an extra $270K this year. Pullen said Bickhart's contract should be cancelled.
Pullen also discovered a previous contract with Bickhart's company, which would have paid him $37.5K per $9M the committee raised, and a contract with GKV LLC, another fundraising firm, that paid the company $10K a month. All 3 contracts would have had to be ratified by an officer or the RNC executive committee; none were.
"I am of the opinion that additional administrative controls need to be put in place to review and authorize expenditures and develop budgetary controls in the major donor programs," Pullen wrote to fellow RNC members.
The ratification requirement was implemented last year after an oversight left a similar requirement out of the party's quadrennial rule book. A private battle between Steele and Pullen spilled into the open as long-time committee members backed Pullen's insistence on financial controls. Steele interpreted the move as a threat to his chairmanship.
Under the rule, passed at a special RNC meeting last spring in DC, top officers of the RNC must approve any contract that pays more than $100K a year.
nice post. thanks.