FEC Still Asking Questions About Potentially Illegal Loan from The Lukens Company

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2019

Contact: Bryan Dewan, bdewan@campaignforaccountability.org, 202.780.5750

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), an anti-abortion advocacy organization, removed Pennsylvania businessman Robert J. Kania from his role as treasurer of one of its PACs, the Susan B. Anthony List, Inc. Candidate Fund (Candidate Fund). On May 7, 2019, the Candidate Fund submitted a new Statement of Organization to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) removing Mr. Kania from his position as treasurer.

On April 17, 2019, Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a nonprofit watchdog group focused on public accountability, sent a letter to SBA List calling for Mr. Kania’s removal as treasurer of SBA List, the Candidate Fund, and the Woman Speak Out PAC. Mr. Kania was recently ousted from the board of the Port Authority of Allegheny County after admitting that he failed to follow Pennsylvania campaign finance disclosure laws.

Click here to read CfA’s letter calling for Mr. Kania’s removal.

Click here to read CfA’s campaign finance complaint against Mr. Kania.

Additionally, the FEC is questioning a loan the Candidate Fund received while Mr. Kania served as treasurer.  On April 4, 2019, the FEC sent a letter to Mr. Kania asking for information regarding a $68,988.94 loan the Candidate Fund received from The Lukens Company, a conservative marketing company.  In its letter to Mr. Kania, the FEC noted that PACs can only receive loans from banks, and the law prohibits “contributions from corporations.”

The FEC gave Mr. Kania a deadline of May 9, 2019 to provide answers about the loan. On May 7, 2019, despite Mr. Kania’s removal, the FEC sent an additional letter to the Candidate Fund, seeking information about “a credit for a loan owed to ‘The Lukens Company.’”

In response to Mr. Kania’s removal, CfA Counsel Alice Huling issued the following statement:

We applaud SBA List for removing Robert Kania from his position as treasurer of one of its PACs and we encourage his removal as treasurer of SBA List and its Women Speak Out Super PAC. Given his inability to follow Pennsylvania’s campaign finance laws and his propensity to entangle SBA List in seemingly unlawful and deceptive schemes, he can no longer be trusted to manage the finances for a PAC or a national advocacy group. Furthermore, the FEC’s continued interest in the loan from The Lukens Company indicates SBA List Candidate Fund may still be on the hook for Mr. Kania’s questionable actions. The SBA list should immediately end its relationship with Robert Kania in full.

Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.