CA Dem Party To File Complaint Against Whitman Front Group “SBAC”

SBAC Using Its 501(c)(4) Status to Hide Donors While Engaging in 527 Advocacy

Sacramento – The California Democratic Party today announced it will file an official complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against a group supporting Republican Meg Whitman’s run for governor by waging dishonest attack ads against Jerry Brown. The complaint will allege that the “Small Business Action Committee” is spending hundreds of thousands more on political activities than is permitted under its 501(c)(4) status, and that as a possible consequence, SBAC may have to disclose the identity of its donors who are currently anonymous.

“If Meg Whitman and her Wall Street cronies want to fund a dishonest and deceitful ad that’s certainly their business,” said John Burton, Chairman of the California Democratic Party. “But they do not get to abuse the tax system to do so. People have a right to know who’s behind these sleazy ads.”

The “Small Business Action Committee” endorsed Meg Whitman just two days after receiving a $10,000 check from her campaign.

SBAC’s treasurer, James Lacy a resident of Dana Point, is the co-founder of the National Campaign Fund, which runs the website ExposeObama.com, a site that devotes significant space to “news” and commentary questioning the validity of President Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship by relying on the thoroughly discredited claim that the President was not born in the United States.