Alleged Ethics and Campaign Finance Law Violations
In 2008 and 2009 Buchanan was named one of the "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW's 5-page report on Buchanan cited evidence of pressuring and paying employees to make donations to his congressional campaign. On June 20, 2009, the St. Petersburg Times published an article alleging that Terry Keith Howell, a former business partner of Buchanan's, had been likewise pressured into donating the maximum allowable contribution of $8800 to Buchanan, despite being a registered Democrat, and in bankruptcy proceedings at the time.
In August 2011, CREW asked the FBI and the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Buchanan on charges of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and bribery, based mostly upon a deposition of one of his former business partners, Sam Kazran. “I need to raise $1 million by end of quarter, it’s not going to have the same impact if it came from me,” Buchanan told the group, according to Kazran’s court filing.
In October 2011, it had been reported that Buchanan was under investigation by the Department of Justice for campaign finance violations. On September 11, 2012 the Department of Justice closed its investigation into Congressman Buchanan and cleared him of wrongdoing.
In May 2012, the Office of Congressional Ethics issued a report stating that Buchanan attempted to get his former business partner to sign a legal affidavit that Buchanan knew to be false before he would agree to pay the partner a $2.9 million settlement in a business dispute. The affidavit falsely stated that Buchanan was unaware of illegal contributions made to his campaign in 2006. The report asserted that there was "substantial reason to believe" that Buchanan violated federal law by attempting to influence the testimony of a witness in a federal investigation.
On July 10, 2012, the United States House Committee on Ethics cleared Buchanan on charges that he violated House rules by intentionally misleading Congress about his finances. The committee stated the errors found in his financial disclosure forms did not warrant punitive action.
On September 28, 2012, a prominent Tampa Bay real estate developer and his former business partner both pled guilty to federal charges of making illegal campaign donations totaling $84,300 to Buchanan's first two Congressional campaigns between 2006 and 2008. The pleas followed three years of federal investigation sparked by the 2009 Terry Howell allegations that determined developer Timothy Mobley and accountant Timothy Hohl illegally reimbursed employees for their donations to Buchanan's campaigns as well as the Republican Party of Florida. In addition to reimbursing employees for their contributions, Hohl also admitted accepting reimbursements from Mobley for donations he and his wife made during this time. Buchanan has stated he was "totally unaware" of any unlawful contributions and that his office would "disgorge" funds found to have been received illegally. Mobley and Buchanan have known each other personally since the early 1990's after Buchanan first moved to the state.
Read more about this topic: Vern Buchanan
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