[T]he Vermont Republican Party has accepted donations from the parent company of a conservative state news site that exceed the campaign finance limit.
The most recent campaign finance filings show that since the beginning of the 2020 election cycle, the Vermont GOP accepted donations totaling $13,000 from True North Reports Inc. — $2,600 more than is permitted under state law.
The party says that after it realized it had accepted funds above the limit, it returned the money earlier this month.
True North Reports Inc. owns the Vermont-based True North Reports website.
Since the latest campaign cycle began, the party accepted two donations from True North Reports Inc. that include a $10,000 donation on Feb. 27 and a $3,000 donation on June 7.
A political party in Vermont can only receive $10,400 from a single source each campaign cycle.
The Vermont Republican Party said it didn’t immediately notice that it had accepted donations that had gone over the limit, and has returned the money to the company.
Deb Billado, the chair of the Vermont GOP, said that in the last two weeks, the party has given back the funds that exceeded the maximum.
“Clearly we didn’t catch it when it happened, otherwise I would not have let it happen,” Billado said. “So it was an oversight and we have corrected it.”
In its campaign finance filing submitted on July 1, the party appears to acknowledge the donations.
In a comment underneath the listed June donation from True North, the party states: “Refund will be issued on the next reporting period.” Parties will not submit campaign finance reports again until March 2020.
Deputy Attorney General Josh Diamond said that after speaking with the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office, he believes the incident was an “inadvertent” error and that the funds have been returned. His office does not plan on seeking penalties.
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos said that if a political party receives a contribution that will go over the legal limit, the state’s online filing system “displays a pop-up text box notifying the user.”
“It is not a hard stop and only acts as a warning,” Condos said in an email.
True North Reports Inc. is owned by Lenore Broughton, a longtime donor to Republican candidates and causes in Vermont.
In 2012, Broughton gave about $700,000 to a super PAC that backed Republican candidates across the state.
Broughton and True North Reports did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
In the first reporting period of the 2020 campaign cycle, the Vermont Republican Party took in a total of about $20,000, half of which came from True North. Gov. Phil Scott was among the party’s other donors, giving $2,000 in December.
Meanwhile, the Vermont Democratic Party raised $42,000, with its largest donation coming from the Dorothy Hines Charitable Trust, which gave $10,210.
