A breaking story this afternoon reveals that Rick Scott’s super-PAC took $150,000 in campaign contributions from corporate executives following massive — and highly lucrative — state pension investments in their firms.
“Rick Scott looks out for himself and his wealthy campaign contributors — and today, Floridians learned of yet another egregious example,” said American Bridge spokesperson Joshua Karp.“His acceptance of a six-figure contribution from executives benefiting from the state pension system is just another example of Rick Scott using his position as Governor to further his higher political ambitions.”
Capital and Main: Rick Scott Super PAC Donations Challenge Federal Anti-Corruption Rule
The Florida governor led a group that raked in cash from Wall Street firms after Scott’s administration gave them pension deals.
By David Sirota and Andrew Perez | April 19, 2018
- “A super PAC led by Florida Gov. Rick Scott raked in donations from two private equity executives after Scott’s administration directed lucrative state pension investments to their firms, according to government records reviewed by MapLight and Capital & Main.”
- “The donations were made to a committee that’s now supporting Scott’s U.S. Senate bid, despite a federal rule designed to prevent financial firms from bankrolling the election campaigns of public officials who oversee state pension investments.”
- “Scott, a Republican, began chairing the New Republican PAC in May 2017.”
- “Soon after, the group received $5,000 from New Mountain Capital Chief Executive Officer Steve Klinsky and $50,000 from Energy Capital Partners founder Douglas Kimmelman.”
- “The contributions flowed to the super PAC after New Mountain Capital and Energy Capital Partners received a combined $250 million worth of new investment commitments from Florida’s state pension system in 2014 and 2015.”
- “During the most recent fiscal year, the Florida investments generated more than $3 million in fees for the firms.”
- “A 2010 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule prohibits firms from receiving investment fees from public pension systems if their executives donate campaign cash to pension overseers like Scott. SEC officials aimed to prevent investment decisions from being shaped by political influence.”
Read the full story here.
Published: Apr 19, 2018