On December 12, NLPC filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against Rep. Jon Fox (R-Pa.) for accepting illegal campaign contributions. Fox was the Republican co-sponsor of last year’s amendment to increase funding for the scandal-ridden Legal Services Corporation.
Not Paying the Toll
According to public records, Fox accepted a large personal loan in
excess of $15,000, reported to be $25,000, while a candidate for Congress
from Bruce Toll, a wealthy Pennsylvania real estate developer. The loan
was made in 1992 and was outstanding through 1996. During the time the
loan was outstanding, Toll was a “maxed-out” contributor to the Fox for
Congress Committee meaning he donated the legal limit of $2,000 to Fox
in each election.
The FEC’s campaign guide clearly states, “A loan to a candidate or political committee is a contribution to the extent it remains outstanding. Repayments made on a loan reduce the amount charged against the lender’s contribution limit. However, a loan that exceeds the lender’s or endorser’s contribution limit is unlawful even if repaid in full.”
NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm said, “The public has lost faith in the integrity of Congress, because all too often they have seen the public trust betrayed to advance personal interests.”
NLPC called on Fox to immediately disclose the loan documents, payment history and all information pertaining to the loan that the law requires candidates to disclose to the FEC.
Boehm added, “The fact that Congressman Fox got a personal loan for more that $15,000 at just 6%, less than half the normal interest rate for such a loan and has not paid it off five years later raises a host of legal and ethical problems.”
A Weak Candidate
Fox was a candidate for Congress in 1992, losing in the general election
making him the first Republican to lose that Congressional district since
before World War I. He ran in 1994 and won a narrow victory. In 1996, Fox
ran for reelection and won by a mere 84 votes. Throughout the series of
Congressional campaigns, Toll was a routine contributor of the maximum
amount allowed by law despite the large personal loan that remains outstanding.
Boehm stated, “The fact that Congressman Fox failed to properly disclose to the FEC the large personal loan from one of his top political contributors for three election cycles is bad enough. The fact that Fox won his last election by just 84 votes -- the closest Congressional race in the country in 1996 -- underscores the seriousness of the public integrity issues in this case.”
If recent history is a guide and the FEC rules against Fox, he would have to immediately repay the full loan amount plus interest. He would also likely face a fine from the FEC of double the amount of the loan. FEC’s ruling is expected in several months.
Extensive News Coverage
NLPC’s FEC complaint against Fox has received wide media coverage in
Fox’s Thirteenth Congressional District of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia
Inquirer ran an exclusive story the day the complaint was filed. Since
then eight other daily and weekly papers in the Montgomery County area
have reported on the loan scandal.
Pattern of Problems
This is not the first time NLPC has brought to light an incident reflecting poorly on his personal ethics. In early 1997, NLPC issued a report detailing how Fox undermined an important LSC reform that he had favored on the House floor. The episode involved the Montgomery County Legal Aid Service (MCLAS), an LSC grantee on whose board Fox had once served.
Last year, Congress passed a modest reform designed to end the automatic refunding that all 280 LSC grantees had enjoyed for years, regardless of performance. Competition for LSC grants would be allowed for the first time. LSC officials, hostile to all reform, awarded one grant to a different organization. The grantee that lost its grant was MCLAS.
Even though the reform had been ballyhooed by Fox as a way to “reform” legal services, rather than abolish it, Fox swung into action to restore the money to his friends. He threatened to then-LSC President Alex Forger that unless MCLAS got its money he would no longer be an advocate for LSC in the House. Fox also pressured the party that won the $464,000 grant, the Dessen, Moses law firm, to back out of the contract. Pressure was so intense that Dessen, Moses was actually picketed by MCLAS lawyers.
Fox is a Hypocrite
As Ken Boehm put it at the time, “Fox showed that he is insincere about
reform. He’s all for it until it is his ox that is being gored. This could
be a case study in why it is so hard to cut corrupt and wasteful government
programs.”
EW