Connecticut AG accused of lying about accepting PAC money

August 23, 2010

Richard Blumenthal has accepted nearly $480,000 in PAC contributions since announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in January 2010

HARTFORD, Connecticut: In an interview conducted on MSNBC's morning program, Morning Joe, in January 2010, Richard Blumenthal argued that he has never accepted PAC contributions, stating, “I have never taken PAC money and I have rejected all special interest money because I have stood strong and have taken legal action against many of those special interests.” However, an examination of the Democratic candidate's campaign finance reports on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website shows that the Connecticut Attorney General's senatorial campaign took in nearly $200,000 in the first quarter of 2010 and that as of late-August 2010 the number has ballooned to as much as $480,000.

Blumenthal's campaign insists, however, that the Democratic candidate never lied. He contends that in the interview he was referring to his twenty years as the state's top law enforcer because "of the unique features of that job." The context of the January 2010 interview reveals otherwise as the female news reporter, just prior to Blumenthal's comment in regards to accepting PAC contributions, was asking about the race for the Senate seat and how expensive the campaign would be. When pressed further about how expensive the race would be, he remarked that "he was going to run a “very grass-roots campaign” and seek fundraising “from ordinary citizens.”"