Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is a fourth-term member of the senate.  He is the  Minority Leader in the 110th Congress and sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Sen. McConnell’s ethics issues stem from earmarks he has inserted into legislation for clients of his former chief of staff, lobbyist Gordon Hunter Bates, in exchange for campaign contributions as well as the misuse of his nonprofit The McConnell Center for Political Leadership at the University of Louisville.  Sen. McConnell was profiled in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.

Gordon Hunter Bates and the Bates Capitol Group LLC

Gordon Hunter Bates served as Sen. McConnell’s chief legal counsel and then chief of staff from 1997 to 2002.  After a 2003 lawsuit ended his bid for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, he opened a lobbying firm, Bates Capitol Group LLC (Bates Capitol).  Bates Capitol clients include: E-Cavern, Voice for Humanity, Appriss Inc. and Boardpoint LLC, all of which have received  earmarks thanks to Sen. McConnell.  In addition, the senator rewrote legislation to help another Bates Group client, UPS Inc.  All of these companies have made substantial contributions to Sen. McConnell’s campaigns.        

If Sen. McConnell accepted donations to his campaign and political action committees in direct exchange for earmarking federal funds to clients of Bates Capitol, he may have violated the bribery statute and House rules.  In addition, by using his position as a member of Congress to financially benefit clients of a lobbying firm owned by his former staff member, Sen. McConnell may be depriving his constituents, the United States Senate and the United States of his honest services.    

The McConnell Center for Political Leadership

The McConnell Center for Political Leadership was founded by Sen. McConnell in 1991 as a non-profit organization for which the senator raises funds.  Two of the largest donors to the McConnell Center are Ashland Inc. and UPS, which have donated $500,000 and $400,000 respectively.  Some donations to the McConnell Center have been delivered to Sen. McConnell’s Capitol Hill office.

The University of Louisville Foundation was sued by the Courier Journal because the center insisted on maintaining the anonymity of its donors.  In August 2008, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that the University of Louisville could not withhold information about donors from public records requests.  The court agreed with the newspaper that “certain donors may not simply wish to conceal their identities, but rather may wish to conceal the true purposes of their donations.”  Though the court ruled that the identities of 62 donors who requested their donations be anonymous need not be revealed, future donors will not be permitted to make anonymous donations.

If Sen. McConnell provided legislative assistance in return for contributions to the McConnell Center, he may have violated federal law and House rules.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT ON SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY) >>