Dem David Krikorian Seeks FBI, Justice Dept. Probe of Election Eve Robocalls: Oh-02 Candidate Suspects Illegal Super Pac





Political Scandal Brewing Over Super Pac?

BREAKING NEWS -- The Hamilton County Democratic Party has now joined the call for a federal investigation:  "Without real and meaningful transparency, shadowy groups from almost anywhere could influence our  elections and we might never know it happened.  This should be regarded as an intolerable situation. " (You can read the complete text of the Democrats' statement about apparent tampering in the primary by scanning down the page.)


CINCINNATI (TDB) -- With suspicion mounting about  illegal activity by political dirty tricksters, efforts are now being made for a Justice Department probe into unusual events that could have swayed a SW Ohio primary election for Congress. David Krikorian is asking U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart to lauch a federal investigation into a flood of mysterious robocalls that urged SW Ohio voters to support an unknown candidate.  Krikorian told federal prosecutors (see letter below) he has information about "a clear violation of the law." The robocalls were anti-Krikorian -- he is a Cincinnati area resident who had the endorsement of Dems in Hamilton County. Krikorian was targeted by a group calling itself the "Victory Ohio SuperPac." But no such organization seems to exist. The calls on March 3 and March 5 blanketed the district and originated from a downtown Cleveland phone number, which has since been disconnected.  The wireless Verizon account -- if traced by authorities -- may reveal who was behind the robocalls.


Krikorian trails William R. Smith, a truck driver from rural Pike County, by 59 votes. Smith, 61, did not campaign, did not spend any money, and did not do anything other than file petitions to seek the nomination. There is a growing sense that Smith's candidacy -- he appears to have been an unwitting beneficiary -- was boosted by a dirty trick fueled by the mysterious Super Pac. Democratic Party officials plan to join Krikorian's call for a federal investigation, and are likely to schedule a press conference Tuesday announcing their decision.

Oh-02 is the congressional district east of Cincinnati. It has been represented by Republican Jean Schmidt, who lost in the March 6 primary to Brad Wenstrup, a physician and Iraq War veteran. Wentrup's win on the GOP side is considered an upset. But it was considered a fair contest. On the other hand, Smith's victory is seen as a fluke propelled by robocalls that seemed to come out of nowhere from a SuperPac that cannot be traced.

The Daily Bellwether has a copy of the letter Krikorian has drafted for Stewart, the chief federal prosecutor in Southern Ohioidate in last week's Democratic primary. Krikorian wrote:

March 12, 2012

Mr. Carter M. Stewart

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Cincinnati, OH 45215

Dear Mr. Stewart:

My name is David Krikorian and I am a candidate for the United States House of

Representatives in the Second Congressional District of Ohio, FEC candidate ID

#H8OH02090. I have firsthand knowledge and evidence that a likely violation of federal

statute occurred between March 3, 2012 and March 6, 2012 that had an adverse impact

on my campaign.

The activities in question were untaken by a group identifying itself as the “Victory Ohio

Super PAC”. 2 U.S.C. § 433(a) establishes a registration threshold for non-authorized

committees, as of March 12, 2012 no committee has registered with the Federal Election

Commission with the name: “Victory Ohio Super PAC”. Failure to properly register is

also a likely violation of Title 26 of the Internal Revenue Service Code § 6652. Failure to

file certain information returns, registration statements etc..

Additionally 2 U.S.C. § 434(a)(1) and (4) and (b) establishes reporting requirements and

expenditure notices for non-authorized committees regarding independent expenditures

that impact a federal election, as of March 12, 2012 no committee identifying itself as

the: “Victory Ohio Super PAC” has made any expenditure disclosures to the Federal

Elections Commission.

describes the facts of this case and includes the opinions of campaign-finance experts that

believe a likely violation of federal statute has occurred. The actions in question were a

series of automated phone calls, as USA TODAY reports:

“One version of the robocall took aim at Krikorian: "William Smith has an opponent

that describes himself as a Reagan conservative. … Please don't make a mistake

and embarrass the party. Vote for William Smith, the real Democrat for Congress."

March 12, 2012

Page 2

The recorded call ended with the disclosure, "This has been paid for by the Victory

Ohio Super PAC." Neither the FEC nor Ohio's Secretary of State have any record

of such a group. A call recipient's caller ID system generated a non-working phone

number from the Cleveland suburbs.”

Click here to listen to the robocall from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s website:

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/files/2012/03/001voicemail.mp3

I would like to request a meeting with representatives from your office to formally

request an investigation into the above matter. I can provide additional evidence and

further details of the case as said meeting. My goal is to identify the people or entities

that are responsible for the Victory Ohio Super PAC and hold them accountable for what

appears to be a clear violation of the law.

Sincerely,

David Krikorian

Candidate for the United States House of Representatives

cc

Mr. Robert Warfel

Supervisor

Federal Bureau of Investigation

2012 Ronald Reagan Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45236

Ms. Anne L. Porter

U.S. Attorney’s Office

221 E. Fourth Street, Suite 400

Cincinnati, OH 45202

UPDATE: 3/13/2012, 9:11 a.m. -- Geoffrey Sea, a Southern Ohio resident near Waverly, has written an in-depth blogpost that suggests backers of a stalled nuclear fuel project outside Piketon were behind the robocalls. Sea said an ardent supporter of the plan, a former local Chamber of Commerce official and current county commissioner, recruited Smith to run.  Here's a tidbit from his report in a new blog called The SONG Sheet  (for Southern Ohio Neighbors Group):  "Cleveland, Mr. Beekman, and Ms. Schmidt, all have a definite connection. A Cleveland "entrepreneur," who is also a former USEC board member and former maverick candidate for mayor of Cleveland, has founded a company called "the Piketon Initiative for Nuclear Independence." It was this company, ePIFNI as they call it, that submitted the formal proposal for spent nuclear fuel storage at Piketon in 2006, a proposal endorsed by Congresswoman Schmidt and Chamber of Commerce Director Blaine Beekman. ePIFNI continues to submit bids for contract work at the Piketon site."


UPDATE 2: 3/13/2012, 1:48 p.m. -- Here is the complete text of the Hamilton County' Democratic Party's statement seeking a federal investigation into the robocalls:

"Tonight, David Krikorian, Democratic candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 2cd Congressional District has submitted a formal request (see attachment) to the US District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio that an investigation be undertaken regarding certain events that appear to have taken place in the run-up to last week’s Ohio Primary Election.

Specifically, a series of robo-calls were placed to voters by an entity that identified itself as
Victory Ohio Super PAC.  Victory Ohio Super PAC appears not to be an entity that is
registered with either the Federal Election Commission or the office of the Ohio Secretary
of State.  Consequently it appears that Election Law violations may have taken place.  
The Hamilton County Democratic Party fully supports Mr. Krikorian’s call for a formal
investigation.   It is fundamental that voters have a right to know who is attempting to
influence their decision on Election Day.   We note that Hamilton County Republican Chair
Alex Triantafilou also has suggested an investigation of this matter is warranted.

Transparency in elections is of the utmost importance.  Voters should know who is
attempting to influence the outcome.  In the post Citizen’s United era of growing Super
PAC spending, this question is becoming murkier by the day.  What appears to have taken
place in South West Ohio only adds to the growing concern over this issue.   Without real
and meaningful transparency, shadowy groups from almost anywhere could influence our
elections and we might never know it happened.  This should be regarded as an intolerable
situation.

It is imperative that an investigation be undertaken to determine exactly what happened in
this election."