AWOL $50,000 from RNC found by AZ GOP Chairman Randy Pullen updates FEC report on eves of 2010 AZ GOP,

, RNC conventions PullenGate continues. Just two days before the January 23, 2010 Arizona Republican Party mandatory meeting and less than one week before Republican National Committee winter meeting in Hawaii, RNC Treasurer and AZ GOP Chairman, Randy Pullen, found the phantom $50,000 gift from the RNC to the AZ GOP. Until now, the infamous $50,000 has eluded the finance reports of the Arizona Republican Party. A careful review of the Federal Election Commission website finds that the Arizona Republican Party has finally answered the call from outraged voters and party leaders to legally declare a $50,000 donation the Republican National Committee made to the AZ GOP on November 24, 2009. On January 21, 2010, the treasurer of the AZ GOP, Timothy Lee, electronically filed an amended December Monthly finance report with the FEC. The newly amended AZ GOP financial report lists an itemized receipt from the RNC for $30,000 on November 24, 2009 and an itemized receipt from the RNC for $20,000 on November 25, 2009. However, the RNCs December monthly report to the FEC shows one $50,000 disbursement to the AZ GOP, made on November 24, 2009. The AZ GOP did not make a notation or comment on the newly amended report regarding the discrepancy of a $50,000 one-time donation listed by the RNCs financial records and the two separate donations now credited to the AZ GOPs receipts. Ironically, on the same day the amended report was filed, Pullen issued a long letter to the members of the AZ GOP Executive Committee, responding to the dissemination of a four-page letter from the Yuma County Republican Party Chairman, Phil Townsend. Townsends letter was sent to several thousand Arizona Republicans

and reflected both insider and public sentiment, showing no empathy for Pullens funny math and evasive posturing amidst a number of fiscal and personnel scandals. Within hours, of Pullens answer to Townsend, Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman, Rob Haney, also penned a letter reacting to Townsends outrage. Haney disagreed with Townsend and chose, instead, to support Pullen and his many accounting irregularities saying, I am very familiar with the methods used by McCain operatives to intimidate those who oppose the McCain agenda and that I would not believe a word of it. Despite numerous inquiries, questions by GOP leadership and media stories regarding the shady record keeping of the AZ GOP, Chairman Randy Pullen still did not insist that the new FEC filings be further amended to reflect the debt that the Party has been carrying off the books. Each monthly FEC report has an entry for new debt and loans, as well as an entry to list any carry-over debt and/or loans. As of today, there are only ZEROS in the debt and loan line items on all recent FEC filings from the AZ GOP. In Pullens January 21 wordy letter to the Executive Committee, he explained the unreported debt this way, we had no debt and I had no intentions to borrow money. We do have some payables that need to be listed on the FEC report and they will be on the December 31, 2009 report that will be filed at the end of this month. Serving as Treasurer of the Republican National Committee and a certified public accountant by trade, Randy Pullen fully understands his fiduciary and legal duty to truthfully report credits and debits in the AZ GOPs financial records. His insistence on redefining the meaning of reportable debt vs. account payables is shocking and an unethical accounting practice. As of today, the Arizona Republican Party has not amended any of the 2008 or 2009 FEC filings to show thousands of dollars in unpaid debts owed to political telemarketer Strategic Fundraising of Minnesota and Nathan Sprouls politcal consulting firm, Lincoln

Strategy Group of Tempe. The off-the-record debts were first reported, just weeks ago, by the Arizona Guardian (subscription only) and have since been confirmed by representatives from each respective creditor. If one is to believe the words of Randy Pullen, the debts will all be legally reported in just a few more days and this can all be put behind us. Well be waiting.

http://www.gop.com/index.php/site/ma/ http://www.azgop.org/ http://fec.gov/ http://renewliberty.org/ Maricopa County website http://www.strategicfundraising.com/ http://www.lincoln-strategy.com/ http://www.arizonaguardian.com/azg/