New Las Vegas-based super PAC supports Trump
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump appears to have some support among veterans in Las Vegas.
But rules are still rules when you’re starting a super political action committee.
On Nov. 1, paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for a new political organization based in Las Vegas called “Veterans for Trump Super Pac.”
It’s not tied to the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign. It’s not located in the Trump Tower either.
The new group’s executive director, Johnny Jackson, indicated in the filing that the group’s just getting started. In the meantime, FEC regulators sent the group a letter on Nov. 16 asking it to correct its name. Because the committee isn’t authorized by the candidate, the group’s name cannot include Trump’s name, the FEC says.
That’s easily fixed by changing the paperwork so a different name is used. There’s no record of any expenditures yet. Super PACs can spend money for or against a candidate but aren’t directly tied to campaigns. The group has until Dec. 21 to clear up the matter.
In an email, Jackson said he got the letter and will be abandoning the name but creating another organization. The reason he gave was slightly different from the letter.
“Due to some other group using his name, and they had negative press I have to disband this name,” he emailed, indicating more information is forthcoming.
The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
— Ben Botkin
Carson: Honesty keeps life uncomplicated
Ben Carson has this going for him: The Republican presidential candidate doesn’t have an illegitimate, out-of-state love child to worry about.
The soft-spoken retired neurosurgeon made that abundantly clear last Monday, when he was the keynote speaker at a Las VegasfundraiserforFirstChoicePregnancy Services.
AfterCarsonbecamefamous,Floridatried toattachhiswagesforchildsupport,Carson told the group. A mother in the Sunshine State was claiming he’d fathered her child.
His attorney got involved and the Florida
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a campaign event Monday in Pahrump. partyrequestedaDNAsampleforapaternity test. Carson didn’t provide a blood sample, joking to the audience that they probably would have incorrectly used it to connect him to a crime. From there, the matter simply fizzled and died, Carson said.
Along the way, he made two points about theimportanceofhonesty.Thefirst:He’snot worried about anyone claiming he fathered an illegitimate child because it cannot be true. The second: It cannot be true because he’s only slept with his wife.
“Ididn’thavetoscratchmyheadandsay, ‘Was there a conference in Las Vegas?’” Carson said.
— Ben Botkin
United by marijuana
What issue unites Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Harry Reid of Nevada? Marijuana.
The three U.S. senators are co-sponsors of legislation aimed at providing financial services to marijuana-related businesses in states that have recently legalized its sale. The bill, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., would prohibit federal banking regulators from blocking, penalizing or otherwise discourage banks from providing services to legitimate marijuana-related businesses.
Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska have enacted laws to license and regulate production and sale of marijuana. So far the marijuana businesses have had to operate on a cash-only basis because federal law makes it illegal to handle proceeds from marijuana sales.
Colorado has tried to open a statechartered marijuana bank but so far has been blocked by the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. That has left the state’s marijuana businesses to remain cash only — for marijuana sales as well as paying staff and vendors.
Reid signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill earlier this month, joining seven other who have endorsed Merkley’s effort since he introduced the bill in July. Also supporting the bill are: Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Patty Murray, D-Wash.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
— Peter Urban —Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@ reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1. Contact Peter Urban at purban@ reviewjournal.com or at 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @PUrbanDC.