Several groups Thursday urged the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Attorney General John Ashcroft's use of a political action committee mailing list during his 2000 Senate race.
The National Voting Rights Institute, Public Citizen and other groups contended in a letter that Ashcroft evaded campaign finance laws through his Senate campaign's use of a mailing list developed by his Spirit of America PAC at a cost of $1.7 million.
They also say that while Ashcroft told the Federal Election Commission he personally owned the mailing list at one point, he failed to include it on a required report to the Senate outlining his financial holdings. He may have broken tax laws by failing to report income earned from the list on his Internal Revenue Service income tax filings, they say.
I am no fan of John Ashcroft. The man is a fundamentalist zealot and has no place in the Justice Department. Among his other "sins," Ashcroft felt he deserved to be "anointed" upon his election to the senate ("as the kings of Israel were when they undertook their administrative duties"), and thinks it is appropriate to sing terrible quasi-religious/patriotic songs in public in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the United States of America. The AP has details of his possible criminal campaign violations here via Findlaw.com. I say "bring 'em on."