PA Rep. Donates Collins Money, Tenney Asked Again to Follow Suit
Should Congresswoman Claudia Tenney give back the $3000 campaign contribution from Representative Chris Collins' PAC since he's been indicted by the federal government on charges of securities fraud? Anthony Brindisi's campaign thinks so.
Once again on Wednesday, Ellen Foster, campaign manager for Brindisi, called on Tenney to return the $3,000 in campaign cash that Tenney accepted from Collins, after a Pennsylvania Representative donated the money he received to charity. “This is not an isolated incident for Rep. Tenney. She’s taken thousands from corrupt representatives and Washington insiders,” said Foster. “Now it’s been revealed that another corrupt politician has given her money. Tenney should return the $3,000 to send her constituents a message that corruption on both sides of the aisle is wrong.”
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, donated the money to a charity that he received from Collins, according to LevittownNow.com. Federal prosecutors laid out a 13-count indictment on Wednesday against Collins that claims that he used inside information to help friends and family save almost $800,000 in losses from a company that just failed FDA approval for a drug expected to aid people with Multiple Sclerosis. Collins, from Western New York, is maintaining his innocence.
In a news release sent out on Wednesday, Foster said Tenney has been silent on corruption in Washington. "While Brindisi stood up to party leadership and pushed for Sheldon Silver’s ouster, Tenney has chosen to benefit from and ignore corruption in her own party," she said. "She took over $20,000 from Richard Uihlein who funded the Roy Moore Campaign. She refused to return the $1,000 donation from disgraced Congressman Pat Meehan, who used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment complaint from a former female staffer. She took $5,000 from Adam Kidan, a former associate of Jack Abramoff who pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy. With the latest news about Representative Collins, it’s clear that Tenney’s criticisms of corruption are nothing but a cheap political ploy," she added.
Brindisi has also been very critical of Tenney this week for accepting contributions from Spectrum and then voting to give them a "$9 billion tax break." Tenney's campaign claims the charge is distorted.
“As usual, Anthony Brindisi isn’t being honest. Democrats rule Albany with an iron fist, and it was on Brindisi and Cuomo’s watch that the Charter merger was approved for upstate New York. Brindisi is just trying to distract voters from the $14,000 he took from Nancy Pelosi, and his deep ties to the corruption of Governor Cuomo and disgraced Speaker Silver,” said Tenney campaign manager Raychel Renna.
Meanwhile, at a press conference on Thursday, Representative Collins said he is "absolutely innocent" and plans to continue to campaign for re-election and will fight to prove his innocence. It's unknown at this time if Tenney has any plans to return or donate the money she received from Collins' PAC.
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