Man I hope they nail this open borders apologist/Maldef lackey to the wall

http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_166154550.html

FEC Launches Audit Of Cannon Campaign Expenses

The Federal Election Commission has launched an audit into U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon's 2004 re-election campaign.

Joe Hunter, Cannon's chief of staff, said the investigation seems ``pretty routine,'' but at least one former FEC official told The Salt Lake Tribune the agency wouldn't be doing the audit if Cannon's financial disclosures didn't raise red flags.

Hunter said the notice from the FEC, received last month, ``indicated they're going to look at everything, which is fine. It's all there to look at.'' He said Cannon's treasurer, state Sen. Curtis Bramble, has sent records to the agency.

Larry Noble, a former general counsel with the FEC who now runs the Center for Responsive Politics, said the commission doesn't have the resources to do many audits, so they are ``only done when there are enough problems to really warrant the FEC to look at them.

``It's not a minor thing,'' he said.

FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said he cannot comment on specific cases the commission may be investigating. However, he said that the commission cannot legally conduct random audits, so generally an audit can be triggered when the staff identifies questions relating to the ``content or context'' of the reports.

On 12 occasions in the 2004 campaign, FEC analysts sent Bramble letters raising questions about Cannon's fund raising and reporting and seeking additional information about campaign expenses.

The agency identified errors in the time frames covered by reports, missing information on contributions and disbursements, insufficient information regarding the purpose of various disbursements, and checks received after the party convention that were improperly credited toward convention expenses, raising the potential for contribution to exceed campaign finance limits.

The FEC has issued 44 audit reports on candidates for Congress in the 2000 and 2002 election cycles.

Cannon reported raising $640,259 in his successful re-election bid. He spent $634,195.

Hunter said Cannon's opponents, particularly those who oppose his immigration stand, have made complaints to the FEC and stirred up trouble, ``so it certainly doesn't surprise me'' that there would be an audit.