By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on March 21, 2025
News Update ---
On December 1, 2023, I published an article titled, “Alabama Policy Institute’s Caleb Crosby Named as a Participant in a FEC Money Laundering Complaint.”A copy of the complaint was hyperlinked in the article.
A check of the Docket Sheet in this Federal Election Commission (FEC) case today shows that Crosby's case is closed, as the Commission did not muster the four votes necessary to pursue an investigation into the allegations raised in the complaint. All actions taken by the Commission are reflected on the Docket Sheet.
The complaint alleged that three political consultants illegally funneled at least $1.27 million in potentially illegal corporate contributions to federal and state political committees through a series of conduit corporations. The complaint’s allegations were primarily based on in-depth investigative reporting by the Orlando Sentinel -- a newspaper founded in 1876 and the recipient of multiple Pulitzer Prizes, including one for investigative reporting. The Sentinel’s reporting on this scheme was detailed and well-sourced, with the paper having internal emails and memoranda from the political consultants discussing the scheme in its possession.
Two FEC Commissioners stated that the Sentinel’s reporting provided a credible allegation of a significant violation that the conduit corporations made contributions in the name of another, warranting further investigation into the true source of the funds. However, these Commissioners could not muster the four votes needed to pursue that investigation.
In April 2024, a motion to dismiss the complaint failed on a 3-3 vote. The Commission also failed, on a 2-3 vote, to dismiss the allegation that Caleb Crosby violated 52 U.S.C. § 30122 and 11 C.F.R. § 110.4(b) by making contributions in the name of another.
By a vote of 3-2, the Commission decided to take no further action against Caleb Crosby in his official capacity as treasurer of the Senate Leadership Fund and in his personal capacity
A motion to close the file passed on a 6-0 vote.
This FEC case now sits in the bizarre procedural posture of having an uninvestigated, active complaint against Caleb Crosby and the other named Respondents tucked away in a closed file.
Comments