On July 19, 2018, Campaign for Accountability filed a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) seeking records from the FBI’s investigation into a loan made by U.S. Senator Mike Crapo’s (R-ID) campaign committee.

In September 2008, Sen. Crapo’s campaign manager loaned $250,000 of the committee’s money to Blueberry Guru LLC, an investment company owned by a friend of the campaign manager.  The LLC then invested the money in Pyramid Global Resources, a Nevada real estate venture.  The manager believed the loan would generate an eight percent return for the committee.

The manager, however, did not disclose the loan’s existence to Sen. Crapo or the FEC, and the loan resulted in a total loss for the campaign. The manager only disclosed the loan to Sen. Crapo in December 2010, when he left for another job.

The Idaho Statesman later reported that Sen. Crapo then hired an attorney to investigate the matter, and he disclosed the loan to the FBI.  The Statesman reported the FBI investigated the loan and submitted a final  report to federal prosecutors, who, in November 2012, declined to bring charges.