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Illinois Dem Appears To Use Donor Funds To Pay Settlement to Political Rival She Bribed
[Free Beacon] Democratic congresswoman Marie Newman (Ill.) appears to be using donor funds to pay out tens of thousands of dollars in settlement money to a political rival she bribed to keep out of her primary race.In late June, Newman settled a breach of contract lawsuit with local activist Iymen Chehade, which stemmed from an employment agreement she signed that promised Chehade a six-figure job in her official office in exchange for his commitment not to run against her. Just two days after the settlement, Newman's campaign began paying Chehade a "salary" of roughly $10,000 a month, financial disclosures show. Those payments continued through late December, allowing Chehade to rake in more than $50,000 from the campaign. Newman's settlement with Chehade came as the Democrat faced a congressional ethics investigation into her employment agreement with the activist. Under federal law, a candidate cannot promise a job "for the purpose of procuring political support." But Chehade signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of the settlement, making him unable to participate in the investigation. During the probe, Newman campaign manager Ben Hardin seemingly confirmed that Newman's settlement prompted the payments to Chehade, telling the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) that the activist "has a few deliverables as part of the settlement" but otherwise has "very minimal interaction" with the campaign. Related: Marie Newman: 2021-10-29 Progressive Dems submit motion panning Israel for outlawing Palestinian groups Marie Newman: 2021-10-17 Illinois Dems unveil new congressional map Friday as Republican Kinzinger reviews his options Marie Newman: 2021-07-25 Illinois Democrat congresswoman bribed rival to not run against her Posted by: Besoeker 2022-02-02 |
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