Press Release

Lance Campaign to Tom Malinowski: Give Back and Reject Fulop’s ‘Dirty Laundered Money’

The Lance for Congress campaign today called on Tom Malinowski to return campaign contributions and reject any financial support from a controversial super PAC and its creator, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.

According to multiple press reports, Fulop’s “Coalition for Progress” super PAC, “was accused by Washington, D.C., campaign finance watchdog groups of being a vehicle for ‘laundering money.'”

“Tom Malinowski says he’s against so-called ‘dark money’ but then his campaign takes tens of thousands of dollars from a super PAC roundly criticized by ethics watchdog groups.  Malinowski has spent the last 25-plus years living and working in the swamp of Washington.  Now, having parachuted into a rented house in New Jersey just a few months ago, Malinowski thinks 7th District voters won’t notice his hypocrisy. He’s wrong.  Malinowski needs to come clean and return any campaign contributions raised by Mayor Fulop and reject any financial support from Fulop’s shady super PAC,” Lance for Congress campaign manager Jim Hilk said.

The website InsiderNJ.com reported that Fulop’s shady super PAC raised $150,000 at an April 2018 fundraiser to help Malinowski and NJ-11 District candidate Mikie Sherrill.  Jersey City Mayor Fulop hosted a second fundraiser for Malinowski on July 17th in Jersey City.

Fulop’s shady fundraising prowess came under fire in 2015 when his PAC reported raising almost $3.2 million, including a $1 million contribution from a Delaware shell company that was formed one day before it donated the money.

According to Politico.com, “After an uproar and two complaints to the Federal Election Commission filed by three Washington-based ethics watchdog groups, the PAC acknowledged that Vivek Garipalli — the co-founder of a for-profit hospital company to which Fulop once tried to award a lucrative ambulance contract — was the source of the $1 million.”

“Tom Malinowski says he wants to, ‘break the hold of special interest and dark money on our democracy.’  He can put his money where his mouth is and return and reject Fulop’s dark dirty laundered money,” Hilk concluded.

NOTEABLE HEADLINES:
“Controversial pro-Fulop super PAC is raising money again” — 7/31/18
“Watchdog group files lawsuit over $1M donation to Fulop-linked super PAC” — 5/16/18
“More trouble for super PAC aligned with Fulop” — 2/25/16
“Watchdog group asks feds to probe super PAC tied to Fulop” — 2/19/16
“Dark money fuels pro-Fulop super PAC” — 2/1/16

“Fulop critics slam $1M ‘dark money’ donation to super PAC” — 2/9/16

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