Doug Chalmers, managing member of Chalmers Pak & Burch LLC, was cited in Kenneth P. Doyle’s Bloomberg BNA article entitled “Huckabee Request for $1 Million a Joke.“ The article discusses the recent unanimous ruling by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that Mike Huckabee did not violate campaign finance laws when he jokingly stated, “If you want to give me a million dollars, please do it.”
The liberal nonprofit American Democracy Legal Fund filed a complaint against Huckabee charging that the comment, made during his presidential candidacy announcement, was intended to raise money for the super political action committee (super PAC) Pursuing America’s Greatness. The FEC disagreed.
Doug Chalmers responded to the complaint on behalf of Mike Huckabee, explaining that during his presidential announcement speech, Huckabee said his campaign would not be funded by wealthy individuals, but by Americans who live modestly and could afford contributions of $15 or $25 per month. “Looking down then at his lifelong friends,” Chalmers mentioned in the response, “and with a big smile, [Huckabee] then jokingly added, ‘now, rest assured, if you want to give a million dollars, please do it.’”
The FEC concluded that “…Huckabee made his remark in jest and that an objectively reasonable observer would have understood as much.”
Click here to read the full article on the Bloomberg BNA website.
