Iowa ethics board opens investigation into Melissa Vine campaign after donation complaint

Iowa's ethics board voted Thursday to open an investigation into the campaign of congressional candidate Melissa Vine, following allegations that her former staffer made donations under others' names to an Iowa PAC before the group's endorsement.

The board's unanimous approval allows staff attorneys to begin investigating whether Vine's campaign violated Iowa law when it allegedly submitted dozens of donations to the Iowa Unity Coalition, a progressive PAC, ahead of the group's online endorsement vote.

At issue is a section of Iowa law that bars a person from making a contribution or expenditure "in the name of another person." A person who made such a contribution could be found guilty of a serious misdemeanor.

"It's as simple as, if you're the one who's paying for it, then you'd better use your name," said Zach Goodrich, the executive director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Goodrich told the board that staff would "expedite (the investigation) as much as we can within reason" ahead of the June 4 primary election. Vine is facing Lanon Baccam for the Democratic nomination in the 3rd district to face Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn.

The campaign manager at the center of the complaint, Lou McDonald, was fired by Vine this week. When asked for comment on the complaint last week, Vine called the incident a "clerical error."

More: Iowa congressional candidate Melissa Vine fires campaign manager after ethics complaint

PAC chair accuses Melissa Vine campaign of 'fraud,' details voicemail threat in letter to county attorney

Mitch Henry, the chair of the PAC who filed the complaint, wrote to Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham and Goodrich outlining the allegations made against the Vine campaign, calling it "fraud."

"It was disappointing and disingenuous for Vine and the campaign to claim this was a 'clerical error,' Henry wrote. "The Vine campaign manager admitted to taking these actions, and after being caught he then threatened thecoalition via voicemail."

In that May 8 voicemail, McDonald warned that if Henry spoke with the Des Moines Register about the issue he would accuse the PAC of taking illegal contributions. The Register broke news of the donations in a story published May 8.

"Hey Mitch, it’s Lou," McDonald says in the voicemail provided to the Register. "I just got a call from the Register. I just want to talk to you before we do what we’re going to do, so, because we have some stuff we’re going to do, if you do what you’re going to do.

"So I just want to be as kind as possible to you and the coalition. So let me know. It turns out, side note, you’ve been taking illegal contributions to the coalition for over a year, and so I want to avoid telling people that on camera. So if you can give me a call back. I’ll help you out."

Henry has dismissed McDonald's allegations as baseless, pointing to the PAC's years of previous campaign filings.

Henry also alleges in that letter that at least four different people had donations made in their name by the campaign "who were not aware of, and did not consent to any participation in this process."

He has sent the voicemail, along with all communications between the PAC and Vine's campaign, to the ethics board.

Galen Bacharier covers the Statehouse & politics for the Register. Reach him at [email protected]m or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa ethics board opens investigation into 3rd District candidate Vine