I learned about bundling by watching them do it.
As explained by the FEC, Lobbyist bundled contributions are defined as:
A bundled contribution is any contribution that is either:
As explained by the FEC, Lobbyist bundled contributions are defined as:
- Forwarded to a reporting committee by a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC; or
- Received by the reporting committee and credited to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC through “records, designations, or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised.”
Bundled contributions do not include contributions made from the personal funds of the lobbyist/registrant who forwards or is credited with raising those contributions and the personal funds of that person’s spouse. Likewise, contributions made from committee funds of a lobbyist/registrant PAC that forwards or is credited with raising those contributions are not bundled contributions.
Crediting through “records” means that the reporting committee or candidate attributes contributions to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC through written evidence (such as writings, charts, computer files, tables, spreadsheets, databases, and other data or data compilations in any medium or format).
Crediting through “designations or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised” means that the reporting committee has given benefits to a lobbyist/registrant or lobbyist/registrant PAC for having raised a certain amount of contributions. Examples include titles, tracking identifiers, access to events or activities, and mementos (such as photographs with the candidate, or autographed copies of books authored by the candidate). This list is not exhaustive, and “designations or other means of recognizing that a certain amount of money has been raised” need not be in writing.
Hillary Clinton's Bundlers
Bundlers are people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who's willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate.
The Federal Election Commission requires disclosure only of those bundlers who are registered lobbyists. Beyond that, it's up to the candidate. The Clinton campaign is releasing information about bundlers who raised over $100,000 (see list below); the campaign does not specify how much each of these individuals has raised beyond that. The Trump campaign has released no information about its bundlers whatsoever.
Together, 1,129 elites are directing at least $112,300,000 for Clinton's election efforts -- money that has gone into the coffers of her campaign as well as the Democratic National Committee.
COURT DOCS: Prosecutors Ask To Present Evidence That NXIVM Sex Cult Leaders Illegally Bundled Money For Hillary Clinton Campaign
Prosecutors have asked to present evidence in the NXIVM sex cult racketeering trial showing that NXIVM leaders including Nancy Salzman and Clare Bronfman illegally bundled money for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign by compelling members to donate to Clinton and then reimbursing the members.(READ: Ex-NXIVM Employees: Kirsten Gillibrand’s Father and Stepmother, Second Cousins, Were Very Active In The Cult, Acted As Broker To Democrat Politicians).
“I was there, and I knew that the contributions were made by more than a dozen NXIVM members to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign,” former NXIVM employee Frank Parlato tells Big League Politics, confirming that the court documents refer to Clinton’s campaign. Bronfman’s donations to Clinton are recorded here.
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NXIVM Memorandum of Law in Support of Governments Motion to Admit Certain Rackleteering Evidence 03.12.2019... by Beverly Tran on Scribd
Latest: EVIDENCE: Trump Campaign Was Spied On Constantly, Stefan Halper's Family Worked With Nellie Ohr
The prosecutors state:
“Campaign Contribution Evidence i. Facts At trial, the government intends to introduce witness testimony and documents demonstrating that in 2007, the defendants and their co-conspirators were involved in an illegal scheme to exceed contribution limits to a presidential primary campaign.
Witness testimony, corroborated by documentary evidence, will demonstrate that at least 14 members of the Nxivm community, including at least five defendants and co-conspirators, made the maximum campaign donation to a primary campaign with the understanding that they would be reimbursed by Bronfman or Nancy Salzman.
At the suggestion of a political operative, who has since pleaded guilty to an unrelated New York state bribery charge also involving campaign contributions, the contributions were “bundled” and presented to the candidate at a fundraising event attended by conspirators, including Nancy Salzman.
A cooperating witness who attended the event will testify that the defendants and their co-conspirators made the contributions in hopes of obtaining political influence to advance their own agenda, including targeting perceived enemies of Raniere. The government will also seek to introduce evidence of similar conduit contributions to other elected officials, as well as use of other political lobbyists in attempts to gain influence.
ii. Admissibility The defendants’ and co-conspirators’ involvement in the conduit contribution scheme and related acts described above, is direct evidence of the charged racketeering conspiracy. Their work together to commit crimes as part of a coordinated effort to curry political favor, evidenced in part by the records of maximum contributions by members of Nxivm on the same day, demonstrates the relationship of trust among the defendants and coconspirators, which is proof of the Enterprise’s existence.
… The same evidence also demonstrates the nature of the criminal relationships between the defendants, which defendants are attempting to portray as a purely legitimate association. The evidence of the conduit contributions is also direct evidence of the existence of the Enterprise and the pattern of racketeering activity because it is probative of the defendant and co-conspirators’ “us[e of] harassment, coercion and abusive litigation to intimidate and attack perceived enemies and critics of RANIERE,” (Indictment ¶ 6(f)).
Specifically, the bundled campaign contributions were part of an attempt to curry favor with a presidential nominee to advance the goals of the defendants and co-conspirators, including by obtaining indictments against enemies and gaining advantages in litigation.
The evidence of the conduit contributions also demonstrates the relatedness of the predicate acts, because it demonstrates the attitude of defendants and co-conspirators that they must “cheat to win” to fight the conspiracy they believed was operating against them.
… Moreover, the conduit contributions is also probative of motive and intent as to the DOS-related acts and charges, because the evidence at trial will demonstrate that one of the defendants and co-conspirators purposes in forming DOS was to have a pyramid of collateralized powerful women who he could order to do things for him or order to vote in a group to “turn elections.”
Finally, because several cooperating witnesses are implicated in the campaign contribution scheme, such evidence is also admissible to corroborate their testimony and to front issues that are expected to be raised on cross-examination.”
Court document passage ends
Democrat senator and presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand’s family ties to the NXIVM sex cult are coming to light, raising serious questions about her relationship with the cult that she once denied knowing about.
Gillibrand’s father and stepmother, who are second cousins, were both heavily involved in the cult in the period shortly before they got married, according to eyewitness accounts from ex-NXIVM employees who spoke on the record to Big League Politics, and according to court documents proving that Gillibrand’s father Doug Rutnik was employed by NXIVM.
Gillibrand’s father served as a broker between NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere — whose initials were branded on his female sex slaves — and then-New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer to resolve Raniere’s financial problems with the state, according to ex-employee whistleblower Joseph O’Hara, whose revelations are printed below.
Gillibrand’s stepmother Gwenn Belcourt got “hooked” on the cult as did Bill Clinton’s close friend Richard Mays, according to the whistleblower. Nancy Salzman, the NXIVM president, acted as a personal “guru” for Gillibrand’s stepmother.
Ex-cult employee Frank Parlato — who exposed the fact that Raniere was branding women — is working with Big League Politics to uncover the deep longstanding links between Gillibrand, the Clintons, and NXIVM.
“The very first time I ever met Gillibrand she was at an event for Hillary Clinton in the Hall of Springs in the State Park. This was in 2006. I was at a table with a Russian friend and Mike Roohan and his wife. I was on the Democratic committee at the time and was given two comp tickets.
Gillibrand came up to me introduced herself and said she was running against John Sweeney. This was before all the stories of his drunken behavior came out. He was still congressman kickass at that time. I promised my support and wished her well. i than commented to Mike that with her baby voice and demeanor that she was a lightweight. Boy was I wrong. But the kicker was when the mixing was over and Clinton went to speak. Gillibrand sat with one of the front tables. Yeah the three front VIP tables were all brought by NXIVM and she was sitting with Nancy Salzman. You can quote me on that,” said witness John Tighe in a statement provided to Big League Politics.
Gillibrand came up to me introduced herself and said she was running against John Sweeney. This was before all the stories of his drunken behavior came out. He was still congressman kickass at that time. I promised my support and wished her well. i than commented to Mike that with her baby voice and demeanor that she was a lightweight. Boy was I wrong. But the kicker was when the mixing was over and Clinton went to speak. Gillibrand sat with one of the front tables. Yeah the three front VIP tables were all brought by NXIVM and she was sitting with Nancy Salzman. You can quote me on that,” said witness John Tighe in a statement provided to Big League Politics.
Nancy Salzman has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy while her daughter Lauren Salzman admitted to enslaving a woman, stating in court, “I knowingly and intentionally harbored Jane Doe 4, a woman whose identity is known to me, in a room in the home in the Northern District of New York” and “threatened to deport Jane Doe 4 back to Mexico if she did not complete labor requested by myself and others.”
JOSEPH O’HARA TELLS BIG LEAGUE POLITICS HIS NXIVM STORY
Joseph O’Hara was living in Saratoga Springs at the time, and a woman he met socially called him up out of the blue and asked for him to meet with the leaders of NXIVM.
“I agreed to meet with them. We met the very next day. We had coffee and that’s when I was introduced to Nancy Salzman, the president of NXIVM, and she described to me the various problems they were having,” O’Hara said, referring to lawsuits, public relations issues, and governmental issues stemming from trying to get a building permit for a NXIVM center.
“I said give me a day or two,” O’Hara said. “After I thought about it, I wrote back to them and said I don’t think there’s anything I can do personally but I can play centerfielder and pull in people you need. I think you need a bigger law firm on this. Yes I can get you a PR firm that can come in and help you. That’s what I proposed to them, that I would be a middle man.”
“They hired me in October of 2003 and I worked for them for 15 months. At the end of 2004 a variety of issues had come up and I resigned.”
O’Hara, whose official title was “consultant,” said he “met primarily with Keith” Raniere and with bookeeper Cathy Russell and legal liaison Kristin Keefe. O’Hara remembers Raniere vividly.
“I thought he was a little strange. He was an odd fellow. Before I met him I had been told a lot about him. I guess when I met him I was a little underwhelmed,” O’Hara said, referring to a tall tale about how Raniere supposedly tied a record in the hundred-yard dash. Raniere held volleyball games with the women in his cult, but O’Hara did not attend.
Kirsten Gillibrand’s Father Doug Rutnik Acted As A Broker Between NXIVM and then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
“I had known Doug Rutnik for a number of years. He was one of the people I thought of immediately for a couple of the problems that he (Raniere) had,” O’Hara said, including the fact that Raniere agreed to pay a certain amount of money to New York State stemming from the bankruptcy of his previous venture Consumer’s Buyline. “Keith never made the payments. I think it was around 45 or 50 thousand dollars.”
“I contacted Doug, and explained to him the situation. Doug could be the broker between Keith and the attorney general” O’Hara said. The attorney general was then Eliot Spitzer.
“Doug and I, Nancy and Keith had lunch at a little club. Keith came in and looked like a young middle-aged business exec. Doug said let’s check this out a little further,” O’Hara remembers. NXIVM was trying to get a license for a school.
The meeting occurred at the Fort Orange Club in Albany in 2004, according to O’Hara.
O’Hara hired a third party attorney in Albany to take a 5-day executive course at NXIVM, and the attorney expressed concerns about the group potentially not paying taxes and “living off the grid.”
Doug Rutnik’s Second Cousin, Gillibrand’s Future Stepmother, Got Very Involved
“Doug said I know somebody else I could send in. It’s his cousin Gwenn Belcourt. She comes back with rave reviews and Doug gets hired. Keith comes up with the money and pays off the attorney general.”
Thus, Gillibrand’s father acted as the broker between NXIVM and attorney general Eliot Spitzer after Gillibrand’s future stepmother Gwenn Belcourt gave NXIVM her full seal of approval.
“Doug was the one, I don’t know who he talked to, but he was the one who got the okay for…NXIVM sent Doug the check, and it was expressly to resolve the issue over Consumers Buyline. And then the issue went away.”
“Gwenn and I met. Doug said let’s have Gwenn go in and take a week-long course. She went in and she wrote up a report and was extremely positive. No issues with the schooling. No issues with the curriculum” at the NXIVM Center, O’Hara recalled.
“He told me this is my second cousin Gwenn. She was engaged at the time. She was a lawyer, someone Doug trusted.”
“Things were happening, one right after the other. Gwenn comes in, she writes the report, and Doug is doing work for them.”
“Meanwhile Gwenn does her thing and she starts taking more classes on her own. We paid for the one class she took…at some point Doug says, this is getting a little weird with Gwenn. He said she broke off her engagement because Nancy told her she needed to re-think her life. Nancy Salzman became Gwenn’s personal guru. She wanted to bring Gwenn in as full-time in-house counsel.”
“I know that she was taking a lot of classes at NXIVM,” O’Hara said of Gwenn Belcourt.
“NXIVM initiates a lawsuit against me and Doug, and Gwenn is still involved in NXIVM at that point. Doug goes in like a rescue mission. He finally convinces her what’s going on there and she leaves NXIVM. The next thing I know all of a sudden he said Gwenn and I are dating now. Shortly after that they’re engaged.”
“For several years, I saw them after they were married,” O’Hara said, noting that the couple was no longer in the cult.
Clinton Friend Richard Mays and Gillibrand’s Stepmother Gwenn Belcourt Both Got “Hooked” on the Cult
“I had done work down in Arkansas, I had met Richard (Mays) down there. He had great connections with Governor Clinton. His lieutenant governor Tucker became governor. I was trying to get in to make a presentation to the governor. Richard got me the meeting. He got me the meeting with Jim Guy Tucker,” O’Hara said.
“One of the other problems Keith had, he had an unpaid bill in Arkansas and he wanted to get an exoneration in Arkansas so he brought Richard Mays in and he got involved. Richard Mays started taking classes and got his daughter taking classes” at NXIVM.
“There were people who got hooked on it. Richard Mays was one. Gwenn Belcourt was another,” O’Hara said.
“I Had Created This Monster”
O’Hara said that he uncovered Raniere evading taxes and illegally obtaining private investigator information on his enemies, which led him to quit. NXIVM then waged lawfare against him.
“They destroyed me. I had created this monster. They didn’t know how to get political consultants.
They didn’t know how to hire former senator D’Amato, they didn’t know how to hire Richard Mays out of Arkansas, best friends with the Clintons. They had all these people now in their arsenal and they destroyed me in short order,” O’Hara said.
They didn’t know how to hire former senator D’Amato, they didn’t know how to hire Richard Mays out of Arkansas, best friends with the Clintons. They had all these people now in their arsenal and they destroyed me in short order,” O’Hara said.
Raniere once admitted in a videotape pulled from the Internet, “I am just a demon.”
PROOF RUTNIK WORKED FOR NXIVM
Former NXIVM employee Frank Parlato provided Big League Politics with copies of the court documents in NXIM’s suit against Rutnik, which prove Rutnik’s employment by the group. (READ THE FULL DOCUMENTS HERE).
“I worked as the publicist,” Frank Parlato told Big League Politics. “We ran into a major disagreement and we split. At the time I worked for them I thought they were a little peculiar but it wasn’t until the end that I realized they were a downright evil group.”
“There are women on the record who are now adults who have accused Raniere of statutory rape and there are some very suspicious incidents where Mexican girls came under the perimeters of Raniere’s control and left under suspicious circumstances. They came from Chihuahua Mexico. I reported this to the authorities,” Parlato said.
“Her father Doug Rutnik came to work as a consultant for NXIVM…he was fired, they sued him, and he had to pay them $100,000,” Parlato said, referring Gillibrand’s father.
Parlato is the NXIVM whistleblower who blew the lid off the case, including the revelation that NXIVM leader Keith Raniere’s cult was branding women with his initials.
“Her father’s wife, her stepmother, was also a member of NXIVM…Doug got her into the cult, Gillibrand’s father got Gillibrand’s future stepmother into the cult. Doug left the cult because he was sued. Clare Bronfman after her father was sued donated money to Gillibrand. Gillibrand accepted it.”
“One is inclined to call her a liar,” Parlato says of Gillibrand.
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