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Maine Ethics Staff Recommend Fine Against Senate Leader

Sen. Andre Cushing represents Maine's 10th district.
American Legislative Exchange Council
Sen. Andre Cushing represents Maine's 10th district.

The assistant majority leader of the Maine Senate faces a fine of $16,500 for not disclosing using campaign funds, in some instances to provide short-term loans to a business he owns.

The fine against Sen. Andre Cushing is recommended by staff of the Maine Ethics Commission, which began investigating the Newport Republican last fall. The probe also found that Cushing failed to provide sufficient detail for transactions through a PayPal account.

Cushing is not contesting the violation.

“While I may have slight differences of opinion on some of the entries, I respect that the commission staff was very diligent and fair and I accept my responsibilities were and are to correct those reports and pay whatever fine may be related to it,” he said.

However, he has asked for leniency because he cooperated with the commission to sort out dozens of discrepancies and aggregate expenses with insufficient detail.

Cushing said the upcoming commission meeting may also shed light on why he used his PAC to provide short term loans to a business he owns.

The violation is not related to Cushing’s use of campaign funds, but that he didn’t report the expenses in a timely fashion. While a handful of states prohibit the use of campaign and PAC funds for personal use, Maine law gives legislators wide latitude to spend money donated to them by individuals and private entities. Lawmakers who use public financing face more restrictions in how they can spend campaign funds.

Staff for the Maine Ethics Commission released its findings Tuesday. The five-member commission will vote on the recommendation during its Aug. 30 meeting

The probe was triggered after Cushing’s sister, Laura Cushing McIntyre, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Penobscot Superior Court that her brother transferred more than $1 million from a family business to his campaign and PAC. The lawsuit is still pending.

Under Maine law, Cushing could face a penalty of $105,000. However, staff is recommending a reduced penalty because “they are disproportionate to the harm to the public from the late disclosure” and because the late filing did not influence candidate races.

The late filings include short-term loans from Cushing’s PAC, Respect Maine, to New England Forest Products, a business he owns.

He also used campaign funds to reimburse himself for gifts to constituents and community fundraisers, although he did not provide sufficient detail upon originally reporting the transactions.

The five-member commission can reduce or an increase the fine when it meets next week.