David Smith and the FEC

Here’s how it is:

• On Thursday, February 16, on Bill Cunningham’s WLW Radio Show, David Smith told Mr. Cunningham he had raised $10,000, with a goal of getting $250,000.
• Within 15 calendar days of either raising or spending $5,000, a candidate is required to file the FEC’s Statement of Candidacy Form.
• David Smith’s Statement of Candidacy was received on March 7, 19 days after the Cunningham interview, and more than likely several more days after he actually crossed the $5,000 threshold.
• Within 25 calendar days of either raising or spending $5,000, a candidate is required to file the FEC’s Statement of Organization Form.
• David Smith’s Statement of Candidacy was received at the FEC on March 22 (confirmed by phone at the FEC; I was told that it will get posted at his page on the FEC site within 2 days), 34 days after the Cunningham interview, and more than likely several more days after he actually crossed the $5,000 threshold.

Somebody could file a federal election complaint against David Smith that would ultimately involve civil penalties if a violation were indeed found, which appears certain if Mr. Smith’s radio statement about contributions received was indeed not true.

Now it’s possible that David Smith meant to tell the truth to Mr. Cunningham on February 16. Maybe he meant to say “pledged.” Maybe he meant to say “promised.” Maybe he meant to say “but I haven’t collected it, because my givers don’t want to be known until after the election, so I won’t actually collect until that delay in disclosure can be accomplished.” But he said “raised.” In the English language that means “collected” (meaning #13 at link).

If he wasn’t telling Mr. Cunningham the truth, hasn’t he automatically disqualified himself as a worthy candidate?

If he was telling Mr. Cunningham the truth, and he is therefore in patently obvious violation of campaign finance law, doesn’t that also disqualify him on the basis of fundamental worthiness? (For an Accounting and Finance guy who is supposed to know what it takes to meet deadlines, and one who has told people that HE is responsible for handling and/or managing $3 billion of his employer’s money, this is more than a little surprising.)

So does David Smith want to stay in the race and get dragged before the FEC by some enterprising individual, including any one of 3 million Democrats if he would by some incomprehensible miracle become the GOP nominee (while other juicy tidbits like the one above get casually dropped along the way)? Or would he rather drop out and more likely than not see the violations get overlooked (and the tide of tidbits stemmed)?
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UPDATE: Even if Mr. Smith was not telling the truth to Mr. Cunningham on February 16 about raising $10,000, the 15- and 25-day clocks on FEC compliance started ticking on February 16, because that was the last date to file formal candidacy papers in the State of Ohio.

UPDATE 2: I thought it would be worthwhile to post Mr. Smith’s employer’s core values (from Page 9 of the document downloaded at this company web page, at the start):

• treat the Company’s assets as you would treat your own;
• behave with the Company’s long-term success in mind;
• always do the right thing; and
• operate within the letter and spirit of the law.

UPDATE 3: This post, including updates, has been posted at Columbus Townhall, where a lively discussion may ensue.

UPDATE 4: Info about filing an FEC complaint is here (roughly three pages if printed out).