[T]he attorney general’s office dismissed a complaint Thursday filed by the Vermont Democratic Party, one alleging that a Republican Governors Association PAC and Phil Scott’s gubernatorial campaign inappropriately coordinated during the production of a series of political ads.
A Stronger Vermont — a political action committee backed by $1.2 million in RGA money — has produced three pro-Scott ads that feature up-close shots and crisp audio of the lieutenant governor. The ads were put on television hours after Scott won the Aug. 9 primary, and the Vermont Democrats filed their coordination complaint Sept. 19.
The party looked to Vermont’s strict campaign finance laws in its complaint, saying the outside ads were “intentionally facilitated by, solicited by, or approved by the candidate or the candidate’s committee.”
Scott’s campaign dismissed the allegations, pointing out that the footage was recorded at public campaign events. Attorney General William Sorrell echoed that argument, saying there was no evidence of such coordination.
“By statute, in order for this office to commence an investigation of a campaign finance complaint, we must have ‘reason to believe’ a person is in violation of the campaign finance laws,” Sorrell said in a statement Thursday. “This legal threshold requires more than mere speculation as to a violation.”
He continued:
“Such activity, standing alone and in the absence of any indication of coordination or prearrangement, is insufficient to cause the attorney general’s office to open an investigation.”
A spokesperson for Scott’s campaign, Britteny Wilson, said the VDP’s complaint wasted taxpayer dollars.
“Today, the attorney general informed them that the frivolous accusation filed against our campaign was baseless and without facts,” she said. “Perhaps the law should allow the attorney general to impose a penalty on political parties that abuse the system.”
Vermont Democratic Party Executive Director Conor Casey said he respected the AG’s decision but thought the concern remained legitimate.
He pointed to a coordination case between the national group and Brian Dubie’s 2010 gubernatorial race.
In the end, the state found that Dubie had shared confidential poll results with the RGA, which then used that information to tailor advertisements backing Dubie. The RGA and Dubie ended up paying $90,000 in combined fines.
“It’s important the RGA continues to be monitored this election cycle because there is a lot of independent expenditure money coming in, and we need to ensure that it’s truly independent,” Casey said.
