The Federal Elections Commission had doubts about Rep. Vern Buchanan’s credibility on certain “background issues” related to its investigation of his campaign finances, but they were not enough to keep commissioners from voting unanimously to clear him of any wrongdoing, according to newly released documents.
In a final report on its investigation dated Jan. 25 but not released until Wednesday, the FEC’s general counsel wrote that because of “significant concerns” about the credibility of Sam Kazran, Buchanan’s former business partner and chief accuser, it was recommending the FEC take no action against the congressman.
The FEC had been investigating allegations that Buchanan, R-Sarasota, had directed Kazran to improperly reimburse his employees for contributions they made to Buchanan’s congressional campaigns from 2005 to 2007.
The evidence, however, did not back up the charges.
“Given the new information relating to Kazran’s credibility, we believe that his testimony regarding Buchanan’s instruction to reimburse contributions ... needs strong corroboration to be considered sufficient enough to say that it is more likely than not that his version of the facts is true,” the report states. “As explained in this report, the record does not contain such corroboration.”
In an unusual display of bipartisan unanimity, the FEC’s three Democratic members on Feb. 1 joined two Republicans in voting to close the investigation; the third Republican member recused himself from the case and did not vote.
The FEC had earlier informed Buchanan of its decision, but it wasn’t until this week that certain documents in the case were made public.
The FEC has fined Kazran’s dealership, Hyundai of North Jacksonville, $67,900 -- an amount equal to the illegal contributions. Kazran also faces a $67,900 fine.
Buchanan’s attorney, William McGinley with the Washington law firm of Patton Boggs, said the FEC’s action vote amounts to a complete exoneration of Buchanan.
The FEC “dropped the matter in a unanimous vote,” he said Wednesday.
The FEC general counsel’s final report details doubts raised about Kazran’s credibility and notes that many of the allegations he made about Buchanan could not be corroborated.
But the report also raises questions about Buchanan’s credibility on what it calls “background issues” in the case, noting his testimony in a deposition.
For example, Buchanan testified he could not remember “one way or another” whether he asked Kazran to raise money for his 2006 congressional campaign, according to the report.
“There is evidence Buchanan did ask, and it raises legitimate question as to Buchanan’s credibility that he could not admit this innocuous fact,” the report states.
“(W)e think that Buchanan’s inability to remember basic facts as to these uncontroversial, routine issues detracts from his credibility. Nevertheless, these inconsistencies on background issues do not necessarily show that Buchanan directed Kazran to reimburse contributions.”
Buchanan’s lawyers have said Kazran did not start accusing the congressman of orchestrating the illegal contributions until after he quit paying off a $2.5 million business loan he had received from Buchanan. When it learned of the possible campaign finance violations by Kazran, Buchanan’s campaign reported them to the FEC.
The agency investigated possible wrongdoing by Buchanan and his campaign for more than two years, interviewing numerous witnesses and gathering thousands of pages of documents.
In March 2010, the FEC found “reason to believe” Buchanan and his campaign had broken the law. But in the end -- and after Buchanan’s lawyers responded to what the FEC had learned -- the case against the congressman appeared to have been undermined by doubts about Kazran.
“While there is some other evidence in the record that is consistent with Kazran’s general allegations, other evidence supports Buchanan’s denials or is ambiguous,” the final report states.
The FEC’s investigation is complete, but Buchanan may not be completely out of legal jeopardy.
Buchanan’s campaign and lawyers in October revealed they had been informed that the U.S. Department of Justice had started a separate investigation of charges that Buchanan had broken campaign finance laws.
The Justice Department has declined to comment on its investigation, and McGinley on Wednesday had no comment.
