The Washington Post’s Matthew Mosk reports that Sarah Palin “began building clout in her state’s political circles in part by serving as a director of an independent political group organized by the now embattled Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens“:
Palin’s name is listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the “Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.,” a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. The group was designed to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state. She served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings.
Last October on Fox News Sunday, John McCain said, “The 527s need to be eliminated.”
Stevens is hardly a model of “excellence in public service.” He was indicted in July “on seven felony counts of failing to disclose gifts that he received from an oil services company,” VECO. That same oil company has ties to Palin, contributing 10 percent of her total campaign fund when she ran for lieutenant governor in 2002.
After Stevens was indicted, Palin vocally defended him. In turn, Stevens endorsed Palin as McCain’s vice presidential pick last week, stating that he has worked with her “for over a decade.”
Previous in TP Politics
By clicking and submitting a comment I acknowledge the ThinkProgress Privacy Policy and agree to the ThinkProgress Terms of Use. I understand that my comments are also being governed by Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policies as applicable, which can be found here.