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Prosecutors dismiss complaints over Pawlenty consulting income
by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio
November 10, 2003

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, Dakota County Chief Deputy Phil Prokopowicz and Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson found no merit in allegations against Gov. Pawlenty. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

Prosecutors in three Minnesota counties say they found no evidence that Gov. Pawlenty violated the law when he earned consulting income while running for governor. Pawlenty received $4,500 a month from a pay-phone company run by a political ally. The DFL Party and two Green Party chapters filed complaints alleging the money was an illegal corporate campaign contribution. Gov. Pawlenty says the attorneys' findings confirm what he's said all along, that he did nothing wrong.

St. Paul, Minn. — The Anoka, Dakota and Ramsey County attorneys say they won't pursue criminal charges against Pawlenty or the company that paid him, Access Anywhere. Their joint investigation concluded that the $4,500 a month went to Pawlenty, not to his gubernatorial campaign. Minnesota campaign law prohibits corporations from contributing directly or indirectly to campaigns.

Anoka County Attorney Bob Johnson says he and his colleagues looked at whether Pawlenty's consulting company -- called BAMCO -- was simply a pass-through to conceal money going into Pawlenty's campaign.

	Gov. Pawlenty

"And we assured ourselves that that did not take place; that this was much as it would be if you were working for any corporate employer and you were running for office, as hundreds of people do every year," he said.

Johnson says the investigation did not look at whether Pawlenty actually did any work for the consulting payments. Johnson says that's not relevant to the complaint.

Pawlenty told reporters the accusations against him were baseless, yet Minnesota law requires county attorneys to investigate all campaign finance complaints.

"The way the system is now is people get to make reckless claims that are very hurtful and very distracting and you guys are all very happy to report it for months, and then there's no accountability for when it's determined that they were baseless, and it's a real disservice to Minnesota and to the debate on the other issues," Pawlenty said.

The chairman of the state DFL Party, Mike Erlandson, says the allegations were not reckless. He says Pawlenty only admitted his consulting income this summer, and never during the campaign.

"If it had been known that the candidate was being paid by a telephone telemarketing company in the state of Minnesota, $4,500 to do absolutely nothing, that that would have had no impact on that campaign, I think that would be surprising," Erlandson said.

Erlandson says he doesn't see any reason to pursue the matter further. He had also called on Pawlenty to release his tax returns to prove he paid taxes on his consulting income. The county attorneys say they reviewed Pawlenty's tax documents, and they say Pawlenty paid income tax on the money.

The prosecutors say they spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars investigating the Pawlenty complaint. Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner echoed Pawlenty's frustration over the requirement that county prosecutors investigate every allegation of campaign law violation.

"We have spent a great deal of the resources of the three offices on these complaints, and found nothing to indicate that a crime has occured. I seriously question whether that's a good use of public safety dollars," she said.

Gaertner says county attorneys are inundated with similar complaints in local and state races every election cycle. She says the Minnesota County Attorneys Association will ask the Legislature to create an administrative board to review complaints and resolve disputes.

The three county attorneys also moved to dismiss similar complaints against three DFL state senators and the chairman of the Green Party. Republicans questioned income earned by Senators Dick Cohen, Steve Kelley and Mee Moua, all attorneys, and Nick Raleigh, a former candidate for governor who worked for Conseco Finance Corporation.

The prosecutors say many candidates and legislators have outside jobs, and don't need to give up their employment to run for office.

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