State GOP files FEC complaint against Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC

The Republican Party of Wisconsin has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC, alleging, among other things, failure to file required reports for an independent expenditure and unlawfully using corporate funds to provide direct support to federal candidates.

GOP executive director Mark Jefferson announced the complaint, which was signed by the GOP’s data and political director, Josh Moskowitz. The complaint included an array of alleged reporting violations.

“While the Minocqua Brewing Company purports to send 5 percent of their profits to their PAC, they fail to report any such transfer, or to disclose these donors in campaign finance reports,” the party asserted in a statement. “The complaint alleges the Super PAC has also failed to include required disclaimer notices on solicitations for donations, failed to file required reports for an independent expenditure, and unlawfully used corporate funds to provide direct support to federal candidates.”

The complaint calls upon the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to start an investigation into the actions of Kirk Bangstad, the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC (MBCSP) executive director Sarah Yacoub, the Minocqua Brewing Company (MBC), and the MBCSP in regard to the contested actions. They are also asking the FEC to start an action in civil court with respect to any civil violation and to refer any criminal violations to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities, as well as render any other relief that the FEC may deem just and equitable.

“It appears that Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC has repeatedly failed to play by the rules,” Jefferson said. “Though their spending hasn’t yielded any significant results, ineffectiveness does not excuse illegal activity and the FEC needs to take action.”

According to the complaint, the MBCSP is registered with the FEC as an independent expenditure only committee with a statement of registration first filed on January 3, 2021, while MBC is a corporation registered with the state of Wisconsin. Bangstad is the registered treasurer of the MBCSP and the sole owner of MBC.

The complaint alleges that Sarah Yacoub is the executive director of the MBCSP, according to a March 21 post on the MBCSP Facebook page. Yacoub was the Democratic nominee in Assembly district 30 last November but was defeated by Republican Shannon Zimmerman.

The MBCSP report, which covers the first half of the year through June 30, shows five $2,000 payments to Yacoub beginning March 8. All totaled, the Super PAC spent just more than $130,000 for the reporting period.

The complaint alleges that both Bangstad, by his activities conducted through the MBC and the MBCSP, and Yacoub, as director of the MBCSP, have exhibited a pattern of violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended.

“According to the MBC’s website, the company purports to donate 5 percent of all profits to the MBC SuperPAC,” the complaint states. “Minocqua Brewing Company is acting as a conduit by soliciting contributions to the MBC SuperPAC through the sale of its products, but has failed to disclose the names of these donors whose funds it purports to have transferred to the MBC SuperPAC.”

Personally profiting?

By advertising a promise to donate 5 percent of profits to the MBC SuperPAC, Bangstad is using the existence of the committee to personally profit through an attempt to increase sales of beer and company merchandise, the complaint alleges. 

“Apart from an initial $1,000 contribution made to fund the committee on January 8, 2021, however, the MBC SuperPAC failed to disclose any transfer of 5 percent of profits from the Minocqua Brewing Company on its regularly scheduled 2021 midyear report filed on July 30,” the complaint states. “It follows that either the respondents misappropriated intended donor contributions for private benefit, or the MBC SuperPAC filed a false report which failed to report receipt of these funds.”

In addition, the complaint continues, on January 4, one day following the registration of the MBCSP, Bangstad disseminated a mass email mailing that originated from his MBC corporate email address. 

“The January 4 email is a communication that expressly advocates for the defeat of clearly identified candidates,” the complaint states. “The email states, in part, ‘I’m creating a SuperPAC to help defeat these people in 2022 … Ron Johnson, Tom Tiffany …’ which meets the definition of an independent expenditure under 11 CF 100.16.”

That rule states that “[t]he term independent expenditure means an expenditure by a person for a communication expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate’s authorized committee, or their agents, or a political party, committee or its agents.”

The MBC SuperPAC failed to file a 48-hour report to disclose this communication as an independent expenditure, the complaint alleges, and it failed to report the independent expenditure on Schedule E of its regularly scheduled 2021 midyear report. 

“The MBC SuperPAC failed to report an in-kind contribution from the Minocqua Brewing Company for use of its resources in creating and disseminating the January 4 email, development of the committee website, and other expenditures,” the complaint asserts.

The January 4 email also did not bear the federal disclaimers required by 11 CFR 109.11 and 110.11, the complaint continues, while both the January 4 email and the MBC websites solicited contributions for the MBCSP but did not bear the required federal disclaimer notices for the solicitations.

“Upon information and belief, the January 4 email was sent, in part, to lists owned by other political committees for which no purchase or rental is reported on the MBC SuperPAC’s 2021 mid-year report,” the complaint alleges.

What’s more, the complaint continues, the January 4 email displays a photograph of the MBC using its business as a billboard in support of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign committee, which it alleges is “one early example of the company impermissible use of corporate funds to provide direct support to federal candidates.”

“MBC is acting as a conduit by soliciting and earmarking contributions to the Minocqua Brewing Company SuperPAC through the sale of its products, but has failed to disclose the names of donors whose funds it purports to have transferred to the MBC SuperPAC,” the complaint continues.

Then, too, on its regularly scheduled 2021 mid-year report, the complaint alleges, the MBCSP reports a number of expenditures for digital advertising, billboard signs, radio advertising, advertising, media production, and canvassing services for which no independent expenditure or direct contribution is disclosed.

For example, according to the report, the MBCSP paid People’s Action $12,353.62 on June 21 and $24,521.11 on March 26 for canvassing services. The MBC SuperPAC also paid Effervescent Blue $5,200 on June 14, $2,000 on June 1, and $11,192.72 also on June 1 for event planning services, for a total of $18,395.72.

Political committees that make independent expenditures must disclose them on Schedule E of their regular FEC report and also as required on 24-hour and 48-hour reports.

Finally, the complaint alleges, Bangstad, in his capacity as treasurer for the MBCSP, failed to use best efforts to maintain and report accurate records of vendor address and donor employer and occupation information. Most notably, the complaint asserts, Bangstad and the MBCSP failed to report the address for its own executive director, Sarah Yacoub, on the 2021 mid-year report.

Richard Moore is the author of the forthcoming “Storyfinding: From the Journey to the Story” and can be reached at richardmoorebooks.com.