One day last June, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews opened his show with some news: His wife, Kathleen Matthews, a former local news anchor and Marriott hotel executive, had announced a run for Congress, seeking to replace Chris Van Hollen in Maryland’s 8th District. Matthews enthusiastically endorsed his wife’s candidacy, and vowed to “offer Kathleen whatever help I can.”
Using Federal Election Commission data and Hardball transcripts, The Intercept has identified 48 frequent guests of Matthews’s program who have made donations to the Kathleen Matthews for Congress campaign. These individuals, their spouses, or their political action committees donated $79,050 as of December 31, 2015 — about 5 percent of the $1.5 million Matthews had raised as of that time.
Campaign finance experts told The Intercept they do not believe the donations violate FEC guidelines. Payola rules from the Federal Communications Commission would prohibit program hosts from receiving payments in exchange for putting individuals on the air, but they only appear to apply to broadcast stations, not cable, and Chris Matthews didn’t receive the payments; his wife did. Cont.
Story from - The Intercept
Image from - YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment