Airline DeSantis hired for Martha’s Vineyard stunt may have violated law banning political donations
A man, who is part of a group of migrants who had just arrived, gives a thumbs up, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha’s Vineyard. Vertol Systems Company, the aviation company that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hired to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, may have violated campaign finance laws. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)
Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette 2022
JThe airline Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) hired to ferry migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this month may have violated campaign finance laws by donating to a political action committee while on tap as a government contractor.
Government contractors are prohibited from making political contributions, according to the Federal Election Commission. But in August 2016, Vertol Systems Company, the firm DeSantis has hiredlaunched a four-year, $3.4 million contract provide flight training to the Department of Defense.
Vertol Systems Company launched a contract with the Ministry of Defense on August 1, 2016.
USASpending.gov/Department of Defense
Two weeks into its government contract, Vertol Systems Company contributed $2,500 to North Florida Neighborswhich presents itself as “the first independent super PAC support conservative Republicans. The company contributed an additional $5,000 to this PAC in March 2017. At the time of contributions, North Florida Neighbors supported Matt Gaetz and Neal Dunn in their first races for Congress.
North Florida Neighbors received contributions from Vertol Systems Company in 2016 and 2017, according to disclosures the super PAC filed with the FEC.
Federal Election Commission / North Florida Neighbors
Technically, donations can break the law. But both are beyond five-year limitation period for execution. And, even if it didn’t, an expert on campaign finance laws said the FEC is unlikely to take action.
“Republican FEC commissioners would say that when the 2017 contribution was made, it was not clear that the ban on federal contractors still stood after Citizens United,” said Brett Kappel, attorney at Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg. In a series of cases this year, the FEC rejected the argument that Citizens United struck down a ban on contractors donating to political committees, according to Kappel.
Spokespersons for Vertol Systems Company and North Florida Neighbors did not respond to inquiries.
Update Sept. 28, 2022, 8:53 p.m.: An earlier version of this story acknowledged that only one of the campaign contributions was beyond the statute of limitations. Both are. The article has been revised. We regret the error.
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