In a Bloomberg television interview, Sessions, R-Texas, told Al Hunt that Buchanan “has been forthright and brought the information to the committee and to the Department of Justice himself,” and that he has “confidence” in him despite the ongoing investigations.

In December 2010, the Federal Election Commission filed suit against Buchanan’s former car dealership and a former business partner for allegedly reimbursing employees who donated to the congressman’s 2006 and 2008 campaigns with car dealership funds.

Though the FEC didn’t file suit against Buchanan himself, the allegations are now the subject of an investigation by both the Department of Justice and the Office of Congressional Ethics. In July, The Florida Independent published a lengthy sworn deposition given by Buchanan’s former business partner (in which he says Buchanan orchestrated the campaign reimbursements); in September, we posted two voicemails left by Buchanan that reference the scheme.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee criticized Sessions’ comments in a press release sent, arguing that his defense of Buchanan comes despite Republican Leader Eric Cantor pledging to enforce a “zero tolerance policy” on ethics violations.

“When your Finance Chairman is under criminal investigation for campaign finance schemes, every dollar you raise is suspect,” said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Jesse Ferguson. “NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions and Republican leadership standing by Congressman Vern Buchanan is only the latest exception in their ‘zero tolerance’ policy for ethics.”

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. (Photo: Facebook)

A source is telling The Florida Independent that the House Office of Congressional Ethics is continuing to investigate Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. TFI first broke the story of the investigation in October, when a source provided us with documentation confirming the preliminary investigation.

The preliminary review of Buchanan began in late September and was yet another response to allegations that the Longboat Key Republican pressured employees into donating to his congressional campaigns and then reimbursed them with funds from a car dealership he co-owned.

The Office of Congressional Ethics has contacted at least three of Buchanan’s former employees since launching its investigation, each of whom worked for the now-defunct Hyundai of North Jacksonville. Our source, who asked to remain anonymous, was contacted by the ethics office as recently as last week, and told us that the Federal Election Commission will likely come out with a report on the investigation within the next 30 days. It is unclear whether or not the office will refer the case to the House Committee on Ethics (made up of members of Congress) for further review.

Per the Office of Congressional Ethics review process, “preliminary reviews” last 30 days and are initiated only after two board members (one appointed by the House speaker, one by the minority leader) have submitted written requests. If the investigation is terminated within those 30 days, no public disclosure is required.

Following the preliminary review, if there is “probable cause to believe [the] allegations,” three members can vote to initiate a second phase of review. Should the office find “substantial cause to believe allegations,” the case is referred to the ethics committee for further review or dismissal and only made public under certain circumstances.

If the committee receives a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, it has a 45-day period to review the case, and determine whether to take further action (it can also request a 45-day extension). At the end of that time, the committee will typically make public its investigation.

According to its website, the House Committee on Ethics has the jurisdiction to “recommend administrative actions to establish or enforce standards of official conduct” and must “report to appropriate federal or state authorities substantial evidence of a violation of any law applicable to the performance of official duties that may have been disclosed in a Committee investigation.”

Last December, the FEC filed suit over a pattern of questionable contributions made to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 campaigns. Though the congressman wasn’t named in the suit, his former business partner and a car dealership the two once co-owned were accused of offering reimbursements for money donated to his campaign and of violating excessive contribution laws.

Though the FEC eventually called the activity an “extensive and ongoing scheme” and fined his former dealership almost $68,000, Buchanan himself was never found to be at fault.

Just last month, however, a federal judge denied an FEC motion to fine Buchanan’s former business partner, Sam Kazran. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton wrote that the FEC “does not provide any guidance in its Motion” and “rests its case primarily on certain statements made by Kazran, which the FEC contends conclusively establish that Kazran solicited others to make campaign contributions in their own names and either advanced the money or promised to reimburse them.”

Kazran will now have a chance to demonstrate that Buchanan coerced him into making the contributions, which he has maintained all along, although it remains unclear if Buchanan himself will have to testify. The Independent obtained a lengthy sworn deposition Kazran gave to the FEC, as well as two voice mails in which Buchanan himself references the reimbursement scheme.

Buchanan is also currently under investigation by the Department of Justice over the same allegations. Our source tells us that the department is currently “gathering information to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to proceed with a grand jury trial.”

A federal judge has denied the Federal Election Commission’s motion to fine a former business partner of Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, over contributions made to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 campaigns.

As extensively reported by The Florida Independent, the FEC has been investigating a series of donations made to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 congressional campaigns, during which time a dealership he co-owned allegedly reimbursed employees who donated to his campaign committee.

Buchanan himself has not been punished by the FEC, even though, at the time of the alleged reimbursements, he was majority owner of the dealership. Instead, the FEC fined his former business partner, Sam Kazran, and the dealership the two co-owned together, Hyundai of North Jacksonville.

U.S. District Judge Roy Dalton yesterday denied the FEC’s “Motion for Partial Summary Judgment,” which would have fined Kazran nearly $68,000 for the reimbursements. In his ruling, Dalton writes that the FEC “does not provide any guidance in its Motion” and “rests its case primarily on certain statements made by Kazran, which the FEC contends conclusively establish that Kazran solicited others to make campaign contributions in their own names and either advanced the money or promised to reimburse them.”

Though Kazran has admitted to knowing about the reimbursement scheme, he has long maintained that Buchanan was the one orchestrating it. The Independent has spoken with two former Buchanan employees who backed Kazran’s story.

According to Dalton, Kazran’s statements “are not judicially binding admissions,” as he proceeded without legal counsel and may not have known that he was admitting to liability. In his own words, Kazran says that he is a “political outsider” who had no knowledge of campaign finance laws and was only following his boss’ orders.

Stating that “the Court is not persuaded by the FEC’s position,” Dalton adds that he is “reluctant to grant partial summary judgment on the issue of liability where the FEC’s theory of liability is unclear, especially where one theory may suggest that individuals who are not defendants in this enforcement action may have violated the statute as well.”

Though Buchanan himself wasn’t named as a defendant in the FEC suit, his implication in the case isn’t cut-and-dry. He is currently under investigation by both the House Office of Congressional Ethics and the U.S. Department of Justice over the same allegations in the FEC suit.

Historically, the FEC has been somewhat reluctant to file suit against sitting members of Congress, but as the federal agency charged by Congress to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, it has absolute discretion to decide whether to prosecute violations.

Kazran might now have the chance to demonstrate that Buchanan coerced him into making the contributions, which he has maintained all along. The Independent obtained a lengthy sworn deposition Kazran gave to the FEC, as well as two voicemails in which Buchanan himself references the reimbursement scheme.

As Dalton’s ruling reads, “a trial court is permitted, in its discretion, to deny even a well-supported motion for summary judgment, if it believes the case would benefit from a full hearing.”

kazran_dc_order_deny_part_sj –

Third-party organizations such as PACs, under FEC rules, are not allowed to coordinate or work directly with candidate campaigns except under very limited circumstances. But recently the Nebraska Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee pushed that envelope by developing television and radio political advertisements that featured U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who is expected to appear on the 2012 ballot. (Nelson has not yet officially launched his 2012 bid and has said he will make his decision next month.)

State Democrats, the DSCC and the Nelson campaign maintain that the ads are not campaign ads because no one is asked directly to support Nelson’s election. Instead, they say, these are issue ads, or ads that are intended to educate voters on specific issues and/or policy debates. It’s estimated that roughly $1 million has been spent on the ad campaign thus far; and, according to Nelson’s campaign, similar ads were run in 2006 at a tune of roughly $1.5 million.

In response, Nebraska Republicans filed a complaint with the FEC, charging that the ads are veiled campaign messages intended for Nelson’s reelection and, therefore, far exceed the $240,000 cap on such coordinated pushes. And American Crossroads, a conservative group founded by Karl Rove, has asked the FEC for an advisory opinion to determine if it can “adopt the tactics” and use federal candidates in its ads. If the FEC rules that such advertisements are indeed issue-based, state parties will no longer be subject to a cap on how much they can spent to help the election hopes of a candidate and third-party groups will have a whole new political buffet at the ready.

On his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, Colbert provided his typical take on the controversy before bringing in his attorney and former FEC head Trever Potter to discuss if the Colbert Super PAC could get in on the action.

“These Ben Nelson issue ads and the kinds of ads that Karl wants to run, they’re not campaign ads, right?” asked Colbert. “They’re just issue ads that happen to have the candidate in them who is campaigning for office. Just because someone is in my ad doesn’t mean that we are coordinating with their campaign — anymore than just because [or] if my penis was in someone’s vagina doesn’t mean we are having sex.”

Ultimately, Colbert signs a letter to the FEC asking the body to approve the American Crossroads’ request. In addition to the letter, which was not read on air, Colbert developed a sample ad, embedded below and featuring former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, to show the FEC members how approving the request would play out in advertisements.

It isn’t the first time Roemer has appeared on The Colbert Report, nor is is the first time the Democrat-turned-Republican has taken on special interest money in politics. His campaign has has a self-imposed ban on special interest money, and will only accept individual contributions of $100 or less.

Per the Office of Congressional Ethics review process, “preliminary reviews” last 30 days and are initiated only after two board members (one appointed by the Speaker, one by the Minority Leader) have submitted written requests. Upon initiation, the office must inform the subject of the investigation. Buchanan’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

If the investigation is terminated within those 30 days, no public disclosure is required. Following the preliminary review, if there is “probable cause to believe [the] allegations,” three members can vote to initiate a second phase of review. Should the office find “substantial cause to believe allegations,” the case is referred to the standards committee for further review or dismissal and only made public under certain circumstances.

The preliminary review of Buchanan, says a source, began in late September and is yet another response to allegations that the Longboat Key Republican pressured employees into donating to his congressional campaigns, then reimbursed them with funds from one of his car dealerships.

Last December, the Federal Election Commission filed suit over a pattern of questionable contributions made to his 2006 and 2008 campaigns. Though Buchanan wasn’t named in the suit, his former business partner and a car dealership he once owned were accused of offering reimbursements for money donated to his campaign, and of violating excessive contribution laws. Though the FEC eventually deemed it an “extensive and ongoing scheme,” and fined his former dealership almost $68,000, Buchanan himself was never found to be at fault.

In August, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint asking the FBI to investigate Buchanan for “witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and bribery.” CREW also asked the House Office of Congressional Ethics to conduct an inquiry.

Venice retiree Donna Cubit-Swoyer also recently filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, requesting an investigation of Buchanan.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that the Department of Justice had begun its own investigation into the allegations that Buchanan offered reimbursements for donations made to his campaigns. The DOJ has neither confirmed nor denied the investigation, but the Buchanan camp has said that the investigation was to be expected.

Buchanan is currently in his third term in Congress, and acts as a finance official at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

According to our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, the Office of Congressional Ethics has requested documents from some of Buchanan’s former business partners and employees, and is also in the process of conducting interviews with them, to collect information relevant to its review.

Though the Department of Justice will not confirm or deny the investigation, Buchanan’s camp discussed the investigation in a statement made to the Herald.

“It has always been our expectation that the Justice Department would review the Federal Election Commission’s findings,” said Buchanan’s office. “The FEC carefully reviewed these politically motivated charges and concluded, based upon the factual record, that Vern did nothing wrong. We are confident that the Justice Department will reach the same conclusion and look forward to cooperating fully.”

As extensively reported by The Florida Independent, the FEC initially filed suit against Sam Kazran (a former business partner of Buchanan’s) and Hyundai of North Jacksonville (an almost completely dissolved car dealership once co-owned by the two men) in December 2010, for allegedly reimbursing employees who donated to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 congressional campaigns, in violation of two campaign laws. Buchanan has long disputed the claims, attempting to paint Kazran as a disgruntled former business partner with a “checkered past.”

The Herald reports that Buchanan’s lawyers are asking the Department of Justice to investigate what they say is an attempted blackmail by Kazran.

Via the Herald:

Bill McGinley, a Washington lawyer representing Buchanan, told the Bradenton Herald that not only does he expect the Justice Department to clear Buchanan, he expects the investigation will find that “Congressman Buchanan is a victim.”

Kazran has long maintained that he is the victim — a self-described “regular joe” who had no idea that there was anything wrong with reimbursing employees for donations made to political campaigns.

Kazran says that, around the time the two’s relationship went sour, Buchanan owed him a sizable amount of money, but would only hand over the funds if Kazran signed an affidavit stating that Buchanan had no culpability in the reimbursement scheme. Kazran refused to sign it, a move he says made Buchanan nervous.

The Independent obtained voicemails left by Buchanan on Kazran’s cell phone around the time of the business dispute. In one voicemail, which is over three minutes long, Buchanan references his 2008 campaign, saying:

I think the threatening of political stuff and all that, you’ve got more liability than you know if you start telling people that you reimbursed people, because technically, you have that liability. All I told you, and I’ve always made it clear, is that you can’t reimburse people. … We’re up by 18 points; we’re gonna win the election anyway.

In another voicemail, Buchanan advises Kazran to hire a lawyer.

The Independent has also published the 118-page sworn deposition that Kazran made to the FEC about Buchanan’s role in the reimbursement scheme.

In an order filed yesterday in a U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Judge Roy Dalton fined a car dealership once owned by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, nearly $68,000 for illegal campaign contributions.

The FEC initially filed suit against Sam Kazran (a former business partner of Buchanan’s) and Hyundai of North Jacksonville (an almost completely dissolved car dealership once co-owned by the two men) in December 2010, for allegedly reimbursing employees who donated to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 congressional campaigns, in violation of two campaign laws.

This latest filing might be good news for Kazran, as it could be an attempt to end the case without actually fining him. Though Buchanan has been named in at least 14 lawsuits brought by former employees (each alleging pressure to donate to his campaigns, with the promise of reimbursements) the congressman hasn’t been named as a defendant in an FEC case.

At a recent court hearing, Judge Dalton shot down Kazran’s motion to add Buchanan to the case. FEC representatives present at that hearing explained that they hope to review Kazran’s financial assets, take a deposition and then “determine the appropriate penalty” before moving ahead with a fine against him.

As previously reported by The Florida Independent, Judge Dalton once worked as legal counsel for GOP Sen. Mel Martinez, a Buchanan confidante.

Though Kazran said he was unaware of the ruling when reached for comment on Thursday, he did seem relieved the fine wasn’t directed at him.

“It appears that the FEC wants to completely shift away from me and they dont want to get Vern dragged in, so they want to hold the dealership responsible … to say that they’ve closed the case and moved on,” said Kazran.

View the filing in full:

Kazran

Former state Rep. Keith Fitzgerald is attempting to unseat a three-term incumbent in his bid for Florida’s 13th congressional district seat. We talked to him about his decision to run, what he aims to accomplish and his opponent, incumbent Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota.

Fitzgerald says he didn’t always have a “huge desire” to run for Congress. “I decided to run because, in a sense, I couldn’t not run,” says Fitzgerald.

After being continually approached by friends, neighbors and colleagues about launching a congressional campaign, Fitzgerald started to seriously consider it: “When I started thinking about what’s going on in this country, and the needs of the people … I caved in to myself.”

Fitzgerald, who teaches at Sarasota’s New College of Florida, has been a busy man over the last few days — fielding calls and doing radio and television interviews to discuss his recently announced campaign.

Buchanan, a magnet for controversy, has been accused numerous times of pressuring employees to donate to his various congressional campaigns, and then reimbursing them with funds from his many car dealerships. The allegations have resulted in no less than 14 lawsuits from former employees (none of which have gone to trial), an FEC lawsuit against a former business partner and calls for the FBI to investigate him for corruption.

But Fitzgerald has no plans to go after Buchanan over anything other than politics, and says that he would rather focus on systematic corruption than his opponent’s personal problems.

“Let me put it this way: A lot of people are going to focus on his ethics problems and his ethics issues,” he says. “That’s known and that’s out there. … My focus is more on the systematic corruption in the political process. That needs to be addressed. We need to change the whole way we do business. His personal corruptions issues are out there and he’ll have to deal with those.”

Fitzgerald says he wants to offer up an alternative for politics as usual, and put citizens back in charge.

“We should be focusing on policies that get people back to work and addressing the housing crisis. That should be our primary focus,” he says. “It’s the entire attitude in the system that’s got to change. Government should be more concerned with addressing the pressing issues of average people, rather than playing some big game about who is in control.”

Though he plans on taking the high road when it comes to allegations against his opponent, Fitzgerald isn’t averse to criticizing Buchanan for his ties to special interests.

“[Buchanan] spends way too much time raising money from special interest groups. … We know what that means. He’s going to people with a lot of money and he’s saying, ‘I will protect your special interest giveaways if you give my party a lot of money,’” says Fitzgerald. “No one discusses that as corruption. … That’s a bigger problem with me than his personal corruption issues.”

Reporter Alex Isenstadt wrote Friday evening that the third quarter fundraising totals for U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Des Moines, and U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, will be barometers in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Leonard Boswell

Boswell has served in Congress since 1997 and is taking on U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, a Republican formerly of Ames that moved south to challenge Boswell rather than battle King in the newly-drawn 4th Congressional District.

Latham, who has served in the House since 1995, raised more than $1 million in the second quarter and has nearly $1.5 million cash on hand. Boswell took in about $336,000 and has $286,000 on hand.

Isenstadt wrote “the Iowa Democrat needs to prove that he can keep pace.”

“During his more than two decades in elected office, Boswell has established himself as a tenacious campaigner,” he wrote. “But his looming post-redistricting race against GOP Rep. Tom Latham is sure be the most perilous – and expensive – contest of his career. Latham, a House Appropriations Committee cardinal who is close to House Speaker John Boehner, is already hauling in the cash.”

Steve King

Christie Vilsack

Meanwhile, King has found himself trailing former First Lady Christie Vilsack in fundraising in the 4th Congressional District. Vilsack, a Democrat, announced earlier this week she’s raised $754,000 since launching an exploratory committee in April. She has $540,000 cash on hand.

King has not yet announced his fundraising totals for the third quarter, but in the second quarter he raised $210,071, spent $161,197 and had $229,972 on hand. The deadline for reporting is Oct. 15.

Isenstadt wrote King “needs to show that his conservative support can translate to cash.”

“King is a conservative heartthrob, but he’s never faced a race like this one,” Isenstadt wrote. “His opponent: Christie Vilsack, who during her eight years as Iowa first lady defined herself as one of the most influential political players in the state.”

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The FEC filed suit against Sam Kazran (Buchanan’s former business partner) and Hyundai of North Jacksonville (a car dealership the two once co-owned) in December 2010 for allegedly breaking election laws.

As first reported by The Florida Independent, the FEC charged that Kazran violated campaign contribution limits and used funds from the dealership “to reimburse [dealership] employees, Kazran’s business partners, their family members and Kazran’s relatives for $67,900 in contributions to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 Congressional campaigns.”

Though the campaign reimbursements occurred on Buchanan’s watch (he was, at the time, majority owner of the dealership), it was Kazran who was slapped with a nearly $68,000 fine in June 2011. Kazran alleges that Buchanan not only knew about the campaign scheme — he orchestrated it.

Buchanan has gone to great lengths to defend himself against Kazran’s and others’ allegations — and rumors of campaign fraud have done little to diminish his reputation amongst Republicans. A recent poll revealed that, were he to jump into the GOP Senate primary (as has been speculated) he would be competitive.

According to Kazran, Buchanan left the two voicemails (which you can listen to in full below) around the time the two men were attempting to settle a business dispute. Kazran claims Buchanan owed him a sizable amount of money, but would only give him the funds if Kazran signed an affidavit stating that Buchanan had no culpability in the reimbursement scheme. Kazran refused to sign it, a move he says made Buchanan nervous.

In one voicemail, which is over three minutes long, Buchanan references his 2008 campaign, saying: “I think the threatening of political stuff and all that, you’ve got more liability than you know if you start telling people that you reimbursed people, because technically, you have that liability. All I told you, and I’ve always made it clear, is that you can’t reimburse people. … We’re up by 18 points; we’re gonna win the election anyway.”

In a separate voicemail, Buchanan seems less confident. ”If I can find a way to feel secure in this, I’m willing to work with you, but again if we get down the road and things start to get, you know, personal and nasty, then you’re alone,” he says.

According to Kazran, in this message, Buchanan was referring to the affidavit — if Buchanan could feel secure that Kazran wouldn’t tell the authorities about the reimbursements, he would pay him the money he owed. Otherwise, Kazran would be on his own.

Kazran says the voicemails reveal a very different Vern Buchanan than the businessman he had come to know. “Anyone that knows Vern Buchanan knows that he would never leave a three-minute voicemail unless he was scared,” says Kazran. “He was typically the most calm, cool and collected guy you could meet. The voicemails portray a different sort of person — someone that was scared.”

Throughout the recordings, Buchanan vaccilates between friendly and accusatory. At one point, he tells Kazran, “I’ve been your best friend and best asset,” but later advises him to hire a lawyer.

Listen to the voicemails:

Buchanan-Kazran voicemail No. 1

Buchanan-Kazran voicemail No. 2