HUGE HELP: conservative political activist Glen Morgan filed a DRAMATIC brief w/ the court. His amicus — filed on Friday — educated these judges that a one-person political committee is a “financial death sentence.” It’s very powerful and persuasive — I urge everyone to read it.
Tues, May 30, 223
To: Our thousands of supporters throughout the state
(cc’d to the media, house & senate members, and Governor, and other candidates for office)
From: Tim Eyman
Fighting for Taxpayers for 26 years
I am so grateful to fellow conservative activist Glen Morgan (and his attorney Nick Power) for filing last Friday a very powerful and persuasive legal brief in my case.
THE FOCUS: the court’s designation that I, Tim Eyman personally and individually, am no longer a person — that I am now designated a one-person “political committee.”
Most normal people do not know the intricacies and nuances of our state’s campaign finance laws.
But Glen does.
So he focused his amicus on one particular law that applies to political committees that illustrates how absurd this whole thing is.
There’s a longstanding law that prohibits a political committee from spending any of the money it receives for “personal use.” This statute actually makes sense for a candidate campaign or a ballot measure campaign: when you donate money to a political committee for a candidate or initiative, the committee isn’t allowed to buy a Corvette or a Caribbean cruise.
But what are the implications when an individual person is designated a “continuing political committee?
Here’s where Glen does the most damage to this absurd interpretation. Here’s some powerful excerpts from his amicus (you can read his entire brief here):
But designating an individual as a “continuing political committee” yields absurd results since political committee funds cannot be used for “personal use.” See RCW 42.17A.445.
If Mr. Morgan – or any civically engaged individual – were designated a continuing political committee, then under RCW 42.17A.445, he would be legally prohibited from spending his own money to pay for his and his family’s own living expenses.
It would be a financial death sentence.
It would be illegal for him to use his own money to buy clothes for his four children, a medically necessary inhaler for his daughter, a Mother’s Day gift for his mother, shelter for his family, or utility bills to keep his family warm in the winter.
But the absurdity would go further.
Given the longstanding interpretation of the [law’s] reporting requirements that each individual item purchased with committee funds be reported, it would follow that Mr. Morgan’s one-person PAC would not be permitted to simply report that on July 5, 2023, his wife spent $58 of her money at Safeway for “personal expenses” – but rather — his PAC’s Schedule B form would need to list the date, each type of food that was purchased and its cost, what individual soap and paper towels were purchased and their costs, what individual magazines were purchased and their costs. His monthly reports would even require their church donations (name and address of the church and the donation amounts would need to be reported as well).
There is simply no legitimate governmental interest in this information.
The irony that such disclosures are not even required of elected public officials should not be lost on the Court. If those officials are not required to do so, then why should an unelected individual person be burdened even more with such detailed reporting requirements and prohibited from spending their own money for personal expenses?
Without review, Division II’s decision will have a chilling effect on people across the political spectrum due to its ambiguity, unprecedented breadth, and inadequate review and understanding of its far-reaching implications.
— END–
Wow.
Powerful.
Persuasive.
I’m very grateful to Glen for putting himself out there and spending the time and effort to have his attorney Nicholas Power draft and file this supportive brief in my case.
You really find out who your friends are when you’re under heavy fire.
True friends don’t run away, they run toward the sound of the guns.
As you know, I’m in a political death match with Attorney General Bob Ferguson who’s now running for Governor:
Despite his best efforts — hitting me and my family with 11 years of investigation and litigation — I’m still here and I’m still fighting.
And that’s only because all of you stuck with me and continued to help me and my family overcome this life-altering challenge.
Thanks to your prayers and support, Richard Sanders can continue to fight back, get this ridiculously unconstitutional ruling overturned, and make sure the AG’s persecution of me and my family never happens to anyone else ever again.
Last August, when the AG took my home and drained all my bank accounts (I was allowed to keep $1500), things shifted from REALLY WANTING help to DESPERATELY NEEDING help.
I urge you to help me survive this by donating to my legal defense fund TODAY!
Mail your check to: Tim Eyman Legal Defense Fund, 17404 Meridian Ave E #F PMB 176, Puyallup, WA, 98375
Or donate online:
By GiveSendGo (credit/debt card)
By Paypal
By PayPal (credit/debit card)
Please support this effort so I can continue to do what I was born to do.
With your help, I will keep fighting for the people across our nation with initiatives, lawsuits, lobbying, and helping elect more freedom-loving elected officials.
I love you all.
Onward!
Tim Eyman
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