[Excerpt] ... Late last week, the Associated Press reported that a federal grand jury is investigating loans made to Brownback’s re-election campaign in 2013 and 2014. The only loans included on campaign finance disclosure reports those two years were from Brownback himself and his lieutenant governor, Jeff Colyer. As the AP noted, the loans — quickly repaid — raised significant questions:
Colyer loaned Brownback’s campaign $500,000 in August – the third such loan the governor’s running mate made to their re-election bid – according to the last disclosure report, filed days before the November general election.Brownback isn’t commenting on the investigation, beyond referring local reporters to his office’s statement last week that the investigation lacks merit. The probe comes as top Brownback loyalists find themselves ensnared in an FBI “pay-to-play” investigation. ... [End of Excerpt]
Such large loans by candidates to campaigns are uncommon in Kansas, and the pattern of repaying one within days is an unusual move that generated unanswered questions about where Colyer obtained such a large amount of cash.
Brownback’s campaign paid Colyer back $400,000 on Nov. 21, about two weeks after the election, according to the finance report filed with the Secretary of State’s office on Thursday. There is still $100,000 from the loan not yet repaid as of Dec. 31.
Read the complete article at Salon.
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