Group wants to see Sen. Martinez fined

11 May 2007 // WASHINGTON — A partisan government watchdog group filed a complaint Friday asking the Federal Election Commission to fine Sen. Mel Martinez nearly $800,000 for numerous election law violations disclosed in a recent government audit.

The complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington outlines numerous audit findings of the Florida Republican's 2004 Senate campaign.

"The violations committed by Martinez for Senate are unprecedented in both size and scope," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW. "Basically, Mel Martinez broke the law in order to win an election. Now, years later, he is a sitting senator and the chairman of the Republican National Committee. A failure by the FEC to severely sanction the Martinez for Senate campaign committee will demonstrate that violating the law pays."

Ben Ginsberg, a Washington-based attorney for the senator's campaign, called the action another "nuisance complaint against a Republican candidate" filed by an organization that lacks credibility.

"This complaint has zero legal effect. It brings no new information to the Federal Election Commission. It is designed purely as a press hit on Sen. Martinez," he said.

In the FEC audit released last month, government investigators found that the Martinez campaign repeatedly received donations that exceeded federal limits. The campaign has said it has already refunded $97,000 of those contributions.