Nishad Singh, whom the Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) says gave $500,000.00 to it just prior to the 2022 election, last week pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to make campaign donations in a false name to federal political committees.
Singh pleaded guilty to his involvement in what is reported to have been a wide-ranging nationwide scheme to subvert campaign finance laws. Reportedly, Singh served as the conspiracy’s front for donations to left-leaning candidates and causes, A political consultant allegedly told him, “In general, you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke sh*t for transactional purposes.”
Assuming Oregon was not an aberration from the pattern of deceit “for transactional purposes,” the path toward prosecution of Singh under state charges is now clear — if Oregon prosecutors choose to take it.
At the outset, it’s important to understand that Singh entered his guilty plea in federal court in response to federal charges for violating federal statutes by giving money in a false name to federal political committees. Any criminal charges arising from the DPO donation most likely would arise under Oregon law, and would be brought by an Oregon prosecutor. That, as Oregon Rounduppers well know, has not happened. Singh’s federal guilty plea practically begs Oregon prosecutors to bring Oregon charges against him.
The Wall Street Journal provides an example of how Singh and, allegedly, his co-conspirators including Sam Bankman-Fried, gave huge donations to political committees under a false name:
This week, Mr. Singh pleaded guilty to a scheme that involved making illegal political contributions using [formerly Bankman-Fried-led] Alameda [Research LLC] funds and masking the source of the money. In an indictment filed against Mr. Bankman-Fried last week, prosecutors said the former FTX chief executive used Mr. Singh as a straw donor to back left-leaning candidates. Referring to Mr. Singh as “CC-1,” the indictment said Mr. Bankman-Fried pushed the younger executive to give at least $1 million to a super PAC that would in turn support a congressional candidate associated with LGBT issues.
That episode appears to refer to Mr. Singh’s role in Vermont’s contested Democratic primary for its sole House seat last year. On July 7, he gave $1.1 million to LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC, a huge contribution for a group that had only about $150,000 of cash at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Over the following weeks the PAC spent $990,000 in support of Becca Balint, the candidate who went on to win the Aug. 9 primary, FEC filings show. Ms. Balint won the general election, becoming the first openly gay person to represent Vermont in Congress.
Ms. Balint didn’t solicit funds from Mr. Singh and only learned he was behind the donation from news reports, said Natalie Silver, her campaign manager. Ms. Balint’s staff did meet with [Sam Bankman-Fried’s brother and political mega-donor] Gabriel Bankman-Fried and his Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, Ms. Silver added. A spokesperson for LGBTQ Victory Fund indicated it was ready to return the money, pending guidance from authorities.
What happened in Vermont matches nearly identically what we know happened in Oregon:
Singh gave the Democratic Party of Oregon $500,000, the biggest donation it’s ever received, on October 4, 2022. The DPO originally reported the source of the donation as Prime Trust, LLC.
Two days after receipt of the donation, the DPO donated $350,000 to Democratic governor nominee Tina Kotek and listed Prime Trust, LLC as a leading donor in a mailer attacking Kotek’s Republican opponent.
Kotek won, becoming one of the two “first openly lesbian U.S. governors,” and Oregon’s first.
Here’s what we still don’t know about what happened in Oregon, but state investigators damn well better find out:
Did the $500,000 Singh donated to the DPO originate from Alameda Research LLC or anyone else who was not Singh?
Did Kotek or a member of her staff communicate with either Sam or Gabriel Bankman-Fried or any agent of Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, Alameda Research or any related entity or PAC prior to the donation?
If the source of the $500,000 was not Singh, Oregon prosecutors have a slam-dunk case against him under state law. The federal statute Singh has admitted to violating is nearly identical to the relevant Oregon statute.
If someone from Team Kotek communicated with anyone in Bankman-Fried world, like Balint’s staff did in Vermont, prior to the donation, Kotek and the closely allied DPO are sitting on a pile of political and legal dynamite the size of Mt. Hood*.
Maybe what happened in Oregon is materially different from what happened in Vermont. As noted above, we know almost nothing about what preceded Singh’s donation to the DPO. It’s up to Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, and the subpoena power they possess, to determine the source of the donation and what Kotek and the DPO knew about it. And that’s a big problem, because both are close allies of the DPO and Kotek and thus badly conflicted.
As Oregon Rounduppers know, I filed a complaint with Rosenblum asking her to refer the investigation and prosecution to Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Udland responded that her office intends to take no action on my complaint at this time. I think Rosenblum is required to at least determine whether a campaign finance violation has occurred.**
Singh’s federal guilty plea, entered the same day Udland sent me her response, demands Rosenblum take action at this time.
*I emailed Kotek’s Press Secretary Elisabeth Shepard and Kotek’s campaign press contact address email yesterday to ask this very question. I am not holding my breath awaiting a substantive response.
**My email exchange with Deputy Attorney General Udland is here.
Jeff - how can we, the public, help light a fire under those who need to pursue where Democrat election funds originated? A “no, we’re not looking…” reply simply pisses me off.
sigh... antman vs. a HUGE can of raid.