D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown has said he’s looking forward to the “closure” he expects will follow a board of elections hearing on the questionable finances of his 2008 at-large council campaign.
Well, that day is nearly upon on us. On Thursday, Brown’s representatives will argue against an office of campaign finance complaint that wants Brown referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office for willfully violating the District’s campaign finance laws.
After hearing the arguments, the board of elections will decide whether it will fine Brown for any faults the board finds and if it will refer the case to federal prosecutors. A spokesman for D.C.’s U.S. Attorney’s office has declined to comment on whether the feds are already investigating Brown.
An audit of Brown’s 2008 campaign found that it failed to report more than $133,000 in contributions and more than $203,000 in expenditures. The audit also found that Brown’s campaign hired a company owned by a former Brown campaign treasurer, which in turn contracted out its “consulting services” to a company owned by Brown’s brother, Che Brown. About $400,000 was paid to the company owned by the former treasurer and $240,000 of that cash was in turn paid to Che Brown’s company.
