April 18, 2001, Wednesday

SECTION: Pg. 3

LENGTH: 482 words

HEADLINE: Group files FEC complaint vs. Cantwell

BYLINE: By Allison Stevens

BODY:
   The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed a complaint Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Sen. Maria Cantwell (D- Wash.), alleging she violated campaign finance laws during her Senate bid.

   The NLPC, a conservative think tank that promotes ethics in government, alleges that Cantwell secured an under-collateralized loan and used the proceeds of two loans secured at rates below those available to the general public to finance her campaign.

   The appearance of impropriety, the group argues, is underscored by the allegation that Cantwell's campaign committee did not meet FEC disclosure deadlines.

   Cantwell spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said she had not seen the complaint and therefore could not comment.

   The complaint hinges on an April 15 Associated Press article that reported that Cantwell had insufficient collateral to secure a $600,000 line of credit, which she used to subsidize her campaign. In addition, Cantwell allegedly agreed to pay back the $600,000 loan, as well as an additional $3.2 million loan, at a below-market interest rate.

   The loans violate federal election laws, the group argues, because the FEC requires that collateral for a campaign loan be worth at least as much as the loan and requires that candidates pay the same level of interest rates as the general public.

   "It was illegal to not disclose these large loans," NLPC spokesman Dan Rene said. "Had she disclosed them, the 2,229 votes may not have gone her way."

   Crider noted that Cantwell has repaid more than half of the $600,000 loan and hopes to pay the rest back in the near future.

   Cantwell, who made campaign finance reform one of the cornerstones of her campaign, spent $13 million of her own money to oust Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.). The freshman senator was worth as much as $80 million before her Internet company, RealNetworks, lost about 80 percent of its value on the stock market. At the end of last year, she had more than $4 million in campaign debts.

   Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) , John Edwards (D-N.C.), Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) are among the colleagues helping Cantwell repay her remaining campaign debt.

   Lieberman is attending a fundraising event Thursday in Seattle; Clinton is holding a fundraiser at her Embassy Row home on April 25; and Edwards hosted an event last month at his home. Details for an event with Kennedy are still being worked out.

   The NLPC, which attracted nationwide attention in the early '90s after it won a suit to force then-first lady Hillary Clinton to open her healthcare task force meetings and records to the press, is also involved in an ongoing suit against the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who, the group alleges, is operating his nonprofit organization, the Citizenship Education Fund, outside of its tax-exempt status.

   - Mary Lynn F. Jones contributed to this report.

LOAD-DATE: April 18, 2001