The campaign finance violations the Office of Campaign Finance accuses D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown of committing is criminal and civil.

Continue reading

It's the first time campaign finance has found criminal wrongdoing. If it had it just been bad bookkeeping, he'd be facing fines. But if it's willful misleading then it's criminal and could be prosecuted by U.S. Attorney.

The Office of Campaign Finance charged Brown's re-election committee with failing to report 210 contributions totaling $102,763.00. It is also charged with failing to report 53 expenditures totaling $169,431.49, as well as failing to substantiate $174,785.57 in expenditures, among other charges.

All charges are violations of the D.C. Campaign Finance Reform and Conflict of Interest Act.

The complaint was filed with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. The board is expected to schedule a hearing to determine the complaint’s merit, the campaign finance office said.

Last week, councilmember Harry Thomas stepped down from his post as chairman of an economic development committee. The Ward 5 councilmember is accused of misusing more than $300,000 in city funds.