By DANIEL SUDDEATH
Bud Bernitt vehemently denied charges filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that cited illegal activities between his organization and former Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel.
“It’s a blatant lie,” said Bernitt, founder of Citizens for Truth.
The organization features a Web site, www.citizensfortruth.com, which attacks Rep. Baron Hill’s voting record and policy.
DCCC’s complaint brought to the Federal Election Commission accused Bernitt of making illegal contributions, failing to register as a political committee and communicating illegally with members of Sodrel’s family.
The latest complaint revolves around alleged activities in the 2006 election. Sodrel and Bernitt claim that nearly the exact same case was brought to the election commission previously and was dismissed.
“Perhaps someone should remind Congressman Hill that he won the 2006 election. If a dictionary definition of a sore winner is ever written, Baron Hill should be a synonym,” Sodrel said.
Hill — a Democrat — defeated Sodrel in 2002 before the Republican unseated Hill in the 2004 race. Hill recaptured the position in 2006 and again bested Sodrel in 2008.
The DCCC accused Bernitt of spending more than $10,000 on radio advertisements attacking Hill through the moniker of Citizens for Trust. That amount would require the organization to register with the election commission.
Bernitt denied spending more than the legal limit and said the complaint is about revenge.
“[Hill] is mad because I’ve been revealing his voting record,” he said. Bernitt added he spent around $5,000 for ads for the 2006 election.
The DCCC also accused Bernitt of calling Sodrel’s son, campaign manager and other members of the candidate’s staff on multiple occasions leading up to the 2006 election.
Bernitt said the calls were not unlawful since he was not contributing to the campaign illegally.
“I, as a U.S. citizen, can have a conversation with a friend,” he said.
In a statement released last week, the DCCC commented that the complaint is about enforcing the rules.
“We’re filing this complaint to hold Mike Sodrel and his soft money supporters accountable for attempting to skirt federal election law and deceive Indiana voters,” said Jennifer Crider, communications director for the DCCC.
