Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller to return illegal $50,000 PAC campaign contribution

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller will return an unlawful $50,000 campaign donation from a Democratic political action committee, his campaign said Wednesday.

A campaign finance report filed late Tuesday evening reveals Miller accepted $50,000 from the Democratic Attorneys General Association, a PAC that donates to Democratic attorney general candidates.

However, Iowa law prohibits statewide candidates from accepting campaign donations from PACs before the regular legislative session ends — and lawmakers hadn’t adjourned when Miller accepted the contribution on May 13.

Upon investigating the donation after the Des Moines Register questioned it, the campaign resolved to return the contribution “out of an abundance of caution,” Miller campaign manager Jacob Hamblin said.

Zach Goodrich, executive director of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board, confirmed the donation is unlawful while the legislative session goes on.

“At the end of the day, it is still not permissible for a political committee, regardless of how it’s organized, to donate to… legislative candidates or candidates for any state office,” Goodrich said.

Miller is the longest currently serving attorney general in the U.S. He is pursuing his 11th four-year term this fall. He will face Republican Brenna Bird. Neither have a primary opponent in the June 7 election.

The Republican Party of Iowa called on Miller to return the donation Wednesday. Chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized Miller for “his failure to gather the necessary signatures” — referring to an objection to Miller’s nomination paperwork that was conclusively dismissed — and to “follow simple campaign finance laws.”

“Is Tom Miller a lazy attorney general or does he think he’s above the law?” Kaufmann said in a statement. “Either way, he must return the illegal money and a serious ethics investigation is necessary.”

Goodrich said the ethics board was unlikely to open an investigation or impose any penalties on Miller after he returns the contribution. “We seek more to help people comply with their reports, unless there is what I would consider an egregious violation,” he said. “Here, it appears to be more of an oversight.”

Goodrich said the board had been fielding calls from candidates enthusiastic to start accepting PAC funding as the legislative session continues. “They want to take all these contributions, they want to go out and do things, but they haven’t been able to just because the session is still going on,” he said.

Thursday is the deadline for candidates for statewide and legislative offices to disclose their first-quarter campaign fundraising [Des Moines Register].