Reid must pay back interest on improper donation (Wizbang Politics)

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has repaid interest on an improper donation from seven years ago - after he was caught.

Erica Werner of the Associated Press reports:

A seven-year-old political donation has proven costly for the Senate's most senior Democrat.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., last year refunded a $3,000 check he got in 1999 from a Texas friend, Ben Barnes, after a public interest group revealed it was improper. Now he's paid Barnes more than $1,600 in interest, according to recent filings with the Secretary of the Senate.

The filings were disclosed Monday by PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign spending.

Read the details at the link above.

Of course, Reid is hardly "the Senate's most senior Democrat," he's just the elected Leader. Off the top of my head, at least Byrd, Kennedy, Levin, Biden, Dodd, Leahy, and Mikulski have more seniority, and there are probably others as well.

UPDATE 3:18 a.m.: I just KNEW that name was familiar, but I couldn't recall from where. Thanks to reader "ordi" in the comments - it is "that" Ben Barnes, he of the TANG story from 2004. ordi relates more of his background in the comments below.

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Comments (2)

Mr Barnes has a storied pas... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by ordi | August 15, 2006 2:59 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

ordi:

Mr Barnes has a storied past:

Ben Barnes is an American lobbyist who was once the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and the lieutenant governor of his state. He was a vice-chair and top fund-raiser of the John Kerry campaign, being one of only eight persons who raised over $500,000 for Kerry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Barnes

Speaking of stories, who can forget his attempt to drop a "fake" bomb on President Bush:

Dan Rather interview with former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes in which Barnes will hint, and deceptive CBS editing will strongly imply, that during the Vietnam War the Bush family pressured him to use politics to get a young George W. Bush into the Texas Air National Guard.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14993

Funny how is was "dirty" Harry who got caught by this bag of wind! LOL

Posted on August 15, 2006 02:59

Thanks, ordi! I knew the n... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Jim Addison | August 15, 2006 3:18 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Jim Addison:

Thanks, ordi! I knew the name was familiar, but I just couldn't place it.

That takes the story from the hilarious to the sublime!

Posted on August 15, 2006 03:18