Cantwell admonished for belatedly disclosing campaign loans

By Alex Fryer
Seattle Times Washington bureau

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The FEC cleared Cantwell of allegations she benefited from favorable interest rates as charged in a complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog group based in Falls Church, Va.

The group complained to the FEC after news reports revealed Cantwell received two bank loans in the waning days of the 2000 election. By law, she should have disclosed the source of the loans before the election.

Cantwell beat incumbent Republican Sen. Slade Gorton by fewer than 3,000 votes. She spent more than $10 million of her own money on the 2000 campaign — nearly 90 percent of the overall $11.5 million she spent on the race.

In a letter dated Jan. 22, 2004, the FEC indicated that it has closed the file on the matter.

The Cantwell campaign listed debts of $2.6 million in the latest year-end reports.

The admonishment "sounds like it's at the low end of the sanction totem pole," said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center.

"Is this going to deter people in future close races? That's the bigger question."

A Cantwell spokeswoman called the violation an "inadvertent reporting error" that was acknowledged and remedied three years ago.

"The FEC recognized the reporting error as an unintentional technical violation, which is why no fine was levied and why they decided to take no further action and close the file," said Charla Neuman.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company