Subject: Willis matter report: responses from current and former staff
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 00:18:32 -0400
From: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Organization: Dept. of Systems Engineering, University of Virginia
To: Steve Givot <givot@softwarena.com>, Thomas Knapp <tlknapp@free-market.net>,
Michael Gilson De Lemos <mg4u@oasis.net>, Joe Dehn <jwd3@dehnbase.org>,
Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>, Carl Milsted <cmilsted@earthlink.net>,
Elias Israel <eli@promanage-inc.com>, Jim Turney <JimTurney@lpva.com>,
Scott Lieberman <scott73@best.com>, Jim Dexter <jimdex@inconnect.com>,
Ken Bisson <kbisson@usa.net>, Mark Nelson <lpiachair@home.com>,
Lorenzo Gaztanaga <DiazVivar@aol.com>, Deryl Martin <dnc@multipro.com>,
Jim Lark <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, Daniel Wisnosky <stigmata@skylink.net>,
Lois Kaneshiki <lois@nb.net>, Daniel Karlan <DanKarlan@compuserve.com>,
Mary Ruwart <Mary@ruwart.com>, Mike Dixon <mdixonlp@earthlink.net>,
Richard Schwarz <hogweed@pop.mail.rcn.net>, Ed Hoch <edsway@sprynet.com>,
Greg Holmes <mag97@home.com>, Mark Rutherford <RUTHERFORDLAW@prodigy.net>,
Tim Hagan <t.hagan@usa.net>, Ben Scherrey <Ben.Scherrey@ga.lp.org>,
Mark Cenci <mcenci@mindspring.com>
CC: jwl3s@virginia.edu, "Hall, William" <HALLWW@wnj.com>
Dear colleagues:
I have included the responses received from current and former staff
members concerning their knowledge prior to April 21, 2001 of improper
actions by Mr. Willis (or others) in this matter. All of the responses
to the inquiry messages have been written and transmitted by e-mail,
except for the oral statement of Dan Smith.
Note that in order to save space, except in the case of Marc Brandl
I have only included the material actually written by the respondent; I
have not included the copy of my e-mail message to them unless they have
interspersed their response within the text of my e-mail. I have kept
the copy of my message in the reproduction of Mr. Brandls answer to
provide a sample of the inquiry message given to current staff members.
If you wish to see the entire message from a given respondent, please
let me know and I shall send it to you.
-----
Stephanie Abdon:
Subject: Re: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 08:33:59 -0400
From: Stephanie Abdon <StephanieAbdon@hq.lp.org>
To: Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>
CC: jwlark@virginia.edu
Dear Steve and Jim,
I can honestly say that I know nothing about this matter, aside from
what I have read in the LP News and in the email to which I am
responding. I did not join the party until 1996 and did not do any
volunteer work until the Fall of 1998. I have only recently been heavily
involved with LP activities and know very little about what happened in
previous years.
I hope that this experience does not turn into something that will be
the downfall of the LP. Nor do I wish it to cause stress and tension
amoung us at a time when we need to work together.
Sincerely,
Stephanie N. Abdon
P.S. Jim -- Todd says hello!
--
--
Marc Brandl:
Subject: RE: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:17:09 -0500
From: Marc Brandl <MarcBrandl@hq.lp.org>
To: Jim Lark <jwlark@virginia.edu>
Hello Prof. Lark,
Hope your tour is going well...
My answers are below. Thanks for dealing with this, you're a braver man
than I...
-----
Dear colleagues:
As you may know, members of the Libertarian National Committee
received information at the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting which indicated
that former LP national director Perry Willis had violated LNC policy
while serving as national director. Specifically, the information
suggested that prior to the 1996 national convention, Mr. Willis
performed unapproved work for the Browne for President campaign after
assuring the LNC in August, 1995 that he would not perform such work
without Executive Committee approval, and after passage of a December,
1995 LNC resolution requiring LNC employees to obtain approval from the
LNC chair before performing outside consulting work.
Shortly after the April 21 LNC meeting, I contacted Mr. Willis to
ask him about this information. On May 11, Mr. Willis issued a
statement indicating that he had indeed violated LNC policy by virtue of
this work for the Browne campaign and that he had concealed the
violation from the LNC; he also provided his reasons for doing so. Mr.
Willis statement is available as a PDF file at
http://harrybrowne.org/policy. The July issue of LP News features an
article about this matter; the online version is available at
www.lp.org/lpnews/0107/willis.html.
As mentioned in the LP News story, for various reasons I believe it
is appropriate for the LNC to inquire about the matter involving Mr.
Willis and his actions. Thus, I am contacting several people (including
former LNC members and L.P. employees) to request their assistance with
this inquiry. In particular, I am writing to ask you whether you have
any information concerning this matter that you believe pertains to
improper actions by Mr. Willis or other people, and to request that you
share any such information with me.
Please send me whatever information you have as soon as possible.
Please note that the main purpose of the inquiry is to determine what
happened so that we can take action where necessary to ensure that
similar problems do not recur. To provide you with a better idea of the
type of information the LNC is seeking, I have enclosed a list of
questions we have asked of some people from whom we are requesting
assistance. I request that you answer these questions and include these
answers with any other information you wish to provide.
It is my intention to assemble the information obtained during this
process and prepare a report for the LNC. The report is supposed to be
presented to the LNC at our next meeting, which will take place on
August 25-26, 2001. I would like to make the report available to my LNC
colleagues as far in advance of the meeting as possible. Please note
that information you provide to me may be available for public scrutiny.
Allow me to emphasize that my request to you for information in no
way implies a belief or suspicion that you have done something
improper. Indeed, I suspect that almost all of those I shall contact
about this matter have done nothing improper. Thus, I hope you will not
consider my request for information to be impertinent or insulting. If
by chance you have done something improper in this matter, or if you
know of improper actions by others in this matter, then I urge you for
the good of the Libertarian Party to provide this information. It is
important to ascertain what happened in this situation and take the
appropriate corrective action as soon as possible.
Thank you very much for your kind attention and help in this
matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions
or comments. You are welcome to contact me by mail (P.O. Box 274, Free
Union, VA 22940), e-mail (chair@lp.org), or telephone (434 973-5958).
Best wishes to you in all your endeavors. I look forward to hearing
from you soon.
Sincerely,
Jim Lark
James W. Lark, III
Chairman, Libertarian Party
-----
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
No
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when you became aware of this information.
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted a violation of LNC policy?
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
No
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates
of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
payment. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and the stated purpose of each payment.
No
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you
have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this information.
No
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC of conflicts of interest.)
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
No
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
This probably isn't relevant but...
During the time in question I ran a College Libertarian chapter at my
alma
mater -- American University which is located in Washington, DC. I had
social/non-professional relationships to one extent or another with
three
people who worked/interned at the national office: Stephen Wilcox, Dan
Smith, and Chris Williams. However I did not know Perry Willis nor was
I
involved in operations in any way in the Browne campaign or the national
office.
I hope that my answers are satisfactory. Please feel free to contact me
with any further questions you may have about this matter.
Sincerely,
Marc Brandl
LP National Campus Coordinator
Marc.Brandl@hq.LP.org
www.lp.org/organization/campus.html
202-333-0008 ext. 237
202-333-0072 (f)
--
--
John Buckley:
Subject: Re: Help with the Willis matter inquiry
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 12:13:07 EDT
From: JSBuckley@aol.com
To: jwl3s@virginia.edu
Jim:
I don't have any information pertinent to the Willis matter inquiry.
Wish I could be of more help.
Take care,
John Buckley
--
--
Ananda Creager:
Subject: RE: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 11:01:01 -0400
From: Ananda Creager <AnandaCreager@hq.lp.org>
To: jwl3s@virginia.edu
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
- No.
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when you became aware of this information.
-N/A
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted a violation of LNC policy?
-N/A
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
-N/A
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
-In 1996 I was a 9th grade student and had no dealings with the LP at
all. I
have also not heard of or come across any evidence of any wrongdoing by
any
LP employee since the start of my employment at the LP Headquarters in
July,
1999. Excluding, of course, what I have read in the July 2001 LP News
about
Perry Willis.
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates
of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
payment. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and the stated purpose of each payment.
-No, I have not received any payments from the above mentioned entities.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you
have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this information.
-I have no information about the above mentioned transactions.
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC of conflicts of interest.)
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
-I have no information pertaining to any of the questions.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
-I have no additional information that would be relevant to this
situation.
--
--
Ron Crickenberger:
Subject: FW: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 12:27:32 -0400
From: Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>
To: Jim Lark <jwlark@virginia.edu>
-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Crickenberger [mailto:RonCrickenberger@compuserve.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 11:19 AM
To: Steve Dasbach
Subject: FW: Inquiry message for LP staff
Thank you very much for your help with this matter.
Take care,
Jim
-----
Dear colleagues:
As you may know, members of the Libertarian National Committee
<SNIP by JWL>
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
===================================================
The answer to the question I believe you mean to ask is no. However,
from
the way you have phrased the question, I feel I must also state that I
am
of course aware of the work that was done by Willis for the Browne
campaign
PRIOR to the policy clarification forbidding such work which was made
at
the December 95 LNC meeting. I was not aware of any subsequent work
after
that date, until the memo from Mr. Famularo surfaced.
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when you became aware of this information.
==============
N.A.
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted a violation of LNC policy?
=================
N.A.
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
====================
N.A>
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
=============================
The answer to the question I believe you mean to ask is no. However,
from
the way you have phrased the question, I feel I must also state that I
am
of course aware of the work that was done by Bill Winter for the Browne
campaign PRIOR to the policy clarification forbidding such work which
was
made at the December 95 LNC meeting. I am not aware of any subsequent
work
after that date.
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates
of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
payment. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and the stated purpose of each payment.
========================
No.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you
have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this information.
=======================
It is public knowledge that Sharon Ayres was on the LNC for a portion of
the time that she was also Browne 96 campaign manager. She fully
disclosed
this, and recused herself from voting on matters where there could be a
perceived conflict of interest.
Other than this, the answer is no.
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC of conflicts of interest.)
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
=====================
Only one minor thought as to how/when Mr. Famularo might have obtained
the document in question. On the Friday prior to an LNC meeting in D.C.,
Mr. Famularo came into LPHQ, sat down in the office managers chair while
she had stepped out for a moment, and began going through computer
files. I
brought this up during the LNC meeting, looking for guidance from the
committee on how to handle such a situation in the future. So it should
be in the minutes, although I'm not sure which meeting it was. It might
have been December '97.
<
Ron Crickenberger
Political Director
Libertarian Party
--
--
Steve Dasbach:
Subject: RE: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 18:45:58 -0400
From: Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Questions:
>1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for
the
>Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
>Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
>Mr. Willis had performed this work?
Prior to the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting, I was not aware that Mr. Willis
had performed undisclosed work for the Browne for President campaign
while he was employed by the LNC. I was aware of the work that was
disclosed at the August 1995 LNC meeting, as documented in the memo
below, dated August 6 1995 and addressed to Jesse Markowitz.
>2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
>aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
>when you became aware of this information.
Not Applicable
>3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before
April
>21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
>constituted a violation of LNC policy?
Not Applicable
>4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
>Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
Not Applicable
>5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
>present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
>Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
>for nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
>information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their
L.P.
>employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
>president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
>provide this information.
I am not aware of any other L.P. employees (past or present) who during
their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996 Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination, except for that work which was
disclosed to the LNC in 1995, and was documented in the minutes of those
meetings and the memo attached below.
>6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
>employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
>other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination)
of
>1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the
dates
>of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
>payment. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
>employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
>served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
>campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential
or
>vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
>please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
>and the stated purpose of each payment.
During my service as an L.P. employee, the only payments of any kind
that I have received from anyone have been my salary from the LNC,
authorized LNC expense reimbursements, expense reimbursements in
conjunction with speaking appearances, and gifts from family members. I
received no payments of any
kind from any presidential campaign.
During my service as LNC chair, the only payments of any kind that I
received from anyone connected in any way with the LP were authorized
LNC expense reimbursements, and expense reimbursements in conjunction
with speaking appearances. I received no payments of any kind from any
presidential campaign.
>7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
>for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
>presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
>to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you
>have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
>were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
>served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
>campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential
or
>vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
>this information.
>
>(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
>to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of
improper
>behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
>LNC of conflicts of interest.)
To the best of my knowlege, those LNC members who worked for any
presidential or vice-presidential campaign disclosed that information as
required by LNC policy. Specifically, Sharon Ayres was the campaign
manager of the Browne campaign during 1995 & 1996, disclosed that fact,
and recused
herself from all debate and voting relating to the campaign. Similarly,
Tamara Clark was the campaign manager of the Tompkins campaign (I'm not
sure if she was paid or a volunteer) while she also served on the LNC --
as I recall, she also recused herself from debate and voting relating to
the campaign.
I do not recall any payments by campaign contractors to LNC members
during this period. If there were any that I knew about at the time, it
would be because they were discussed during an LNC meeting and would be
reflected in the minutes.
>8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
>Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
>the following questions be sought:
>
>A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
>which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
>amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
>B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
>involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
>dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
>C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
>involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
>and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
>such payment?
>
>Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
>please provide this information.
A. The LP contracted with Dean and Spears to set up a major donor
program sometime during this period -- I believe it was during 1995. The
specific dates and payments would be included in the records that Mr.
Redpath is examining and the effort in general should be mentioned in
the LNC minutes.
I have no information about B or C, beyond what was provided in the memo
that Mr. Famularo provided to the LNC on April 21 2001, and in Mr.
Willis' May 11 2001 memo. I was not aware of this information prior to
April 21, 2001.
>9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
>relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
Not that I can think of.
Steve Dasbach
LP National Director [1998 - present]
LP National Chair [1993 - 1998]
------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Dasbach[SMTP:76060.3222@compuserve.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 1995 6:13 PM
To: Jessi Markowitz
Subject: Response to your questions
Jessi & Dean,
Thanks for voicing your specific concerns. It is far easier to answer
specific questions than to deal with rumor and innuendo.
I apologize for the time it has taken me to respond. However, I wanted
to ensure that your questions were fully investigated and that the
answers were complete and accurate. Also, I was gone one week for summer
camp with my kids, and one week of vacation.
>...it is critical that the National Director(as per our bylaws)
>not be involved in any way in the presidential race until after
>our candidate is selected. The bylaws seemed _very_ clear on
>this.
Actually, the bylaws do not contain any such restrictions. The only
section with any relevance is:
ARTICLE 3: PURPOSES
The Party is organized to implement and give voice to
the principles embodied in the Statement of Principles
by:
...nominating candidates for President and Vice-
President of the United States, and supporting Party
and affiliate party candidates for political office,...
Thus, our Bylaws specifically charge us with providing support for
candidates.
You are probably thinking of the LNC Policy Manual, which is adopted by
the LNC. This would seem to be the relevant section of that document:
I. GENERAL POLICY
Section 2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
D. Neither the National Director nor any other employee
of the Party shall: 1. Endorse, support, contribute any
money, or use his or her title or position to aid any
candidate in any Party primary, or in any campaign for
office, or nomination, within the Party or any State
Party. 2. [not relevant] 3. Permit LPHQ to be used by
anyone at any time to aid any candidate in any Party
primary, or in any campaign for office, or nomination,
with the Party or any State Party.
E. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that nothing in this section
shall prevent the National Director or any employee of
the Party from providing the same information and
services that would be provided to any other member of
the Party to any such candidate.
F. No Party funds may be expended in any of the types
of campaigns described in this section.
I oppose any use of LPHQ resources to try to influence who gets
nominated by our convention for any office. The staff concurs with this
position.
However, I do think that it is both appropriate and desirable that the
LNC and LPHQ staff do what we can to help candidates and their staffs
run better campaigns among the general population, as opposed to
providing help in rounding up the support of potential delegates.
For example: it has been LNC policy, since long before I became Chair,
that LPHQ provide information, training, and other political information
to our members. In accordance with Article 3 of our Bylaws, and Section
I.2.E. of the LNC Policy Manual, we provide this information to members
irrespective of whether they are pursuing a Party nomination or already
have obtained it. The best example of this is providing candidate
training materials and sponsoring candidate training workshops. We also
engage in general candidate recruitment efforts.
National Director Perry Willis is in a unique position to provide
valuable information and insight to candidates, having worked on two
previous Presidential campaigns (1984 and 1992) and being highly skilled
in the areas of direct mail fundraising and prospecting. As Director, I
expect him to share that knowledge with other LP members, including
candidates for our Presidential nomination and their staffs. Aa long as
this information "would be provided to any other member of the Party",
sharing it with
candidates and their staffs is expressly permitted by LNC policy.
Likewise, Director of Communications Bill Winter is highly regarded
within the LP for his graphical layout and newsletter production skills,
as well as the "winning look" he gives to Party literature. Part of his
job is to help LP activists and candidates improve their skills in these
areas, and they frequently call upon him for advice and assistance.
Although he does not have time to do actual layout work for affiliate
party activists and candidates during his work day, he has performed
such work, after hours and on his own time, on several occasions over
the past two years.
>Hopefully Steve can obtain answers to these questions from the
>LP staff:
>1. Precisely what was Perry Willis' role in the Browne campaign?
Perry Willis has not held, and does not hold, any position in the Browne
campaign. He has provided, and continues to provide, general campaign
advice of the type described above to any candidate (or campaign) who
requests it. This has included the Browne campaign.
Perry did produce, on a contract basis, one document for the Browne
campaign which dealt with issues similar to those that he provides
general advice on. The document was produced on his own time and he was
paid market rate for the work. Since this work neither constituted
"support" nor an in-kind "contribution", Perry was not prohibited from
performing it as a vendor. However, to avoid even the appearance of
impropriety, he agreed (several months ago) to accept no further work
from any campaign unless he first brought the issue before the LNC for
explicit consideration.
>2. Did Perry write fundraising letters for Harry Browne?
No. I believe they have all been written by Michael Emerling, with
extensive input from Mr. Browne.
>3. Was National Office equipment used in the production of any
>Browne campaign material?
Perry wrote the document referred to above on his own time. Some of this
work was done at home, some was done after hours at the office using his
office computer. Although there is little practical difference between
using a computer at the office or one at home, this use of his office
computer did constitute a
violation of LNC Policy I.2.D.3. Perry has agreed to fully abide by the
policy in the future.
Bill has performed some graphical layout work, similar to that which he
has previously performed for state parties and state- level candidates,
for two different national candidates. This work was produced on his own
time and he was paid market rate for the work. Since this type of work
neither constitutes "support" nor an in-kind "contribution", Bill is not
prohibited from performing it as a vendor. I have not prohibited Bill
from supplementing his income by accepting such work in the future.
However, most of this work was done at the office, after hours, using
his office computer and laser printer. As with Perry, this use of his
office computer constituted a violation of LNC Policy I.2.D.3. Bill has
agreed to fully abide by the policy in the future, and refrain from
using LPHQ equipment to perform any outside contract work. He also
volunteered to compensate the LP for his past use of LPHQ materials
(paper, toner, etc.).
I did not take disciplinary action against either Perry or Bill for
these violations, as both were first offenses. However, I will take
action if there are any future violations of these policies.
>4. Did any volunteers or staff at the National Office make
>calls from the National Office make calls to organize or promote
>Browne campaign events?
No.
>5. Did Perry meet with Harry Browne and/or any of his campaign
>staff at the National Office and, if so, what was the purpose of
>those meetings?
Perry gave Harry Browne a tour of LPHQ when he was in Washington. There
were no meetings and no campaign business discussed.
Perry has also met with LNC member and Browne campaign chair Sharon
Ayres at LPHQ, but such meetings have involved only LP business.
>6. Did the Browne campaign purchase use of the mailing list
>through our distributor or directly from the LP Office?
Directly from the LP Office. This is standard procedure for all internal
rentals, including all rentals by prospective candidates.
>I think that it is in the best interests of the Party that these
>questions be fully answered now and not pop up later when they
>will seriously damage our efforts at this critical time.
I agree. Thank you for asking.
>There are other questions that are best left unasked until the
>answers to these are known.
I would appreciate it if you would go ahead and ask all of your
remaining questions so that they too can be fully answered.
Thanks.
Steve
--
--
Nick Dunbar:
Subject: RE: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:21:22 -0400
From: "D. Nick Dunbar" <DNickDunbar@hq.lp.org>
To: James W Lark <jwl3s@virginia.edu>, Steve Dasbach
<SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
No. I had no indication that Perry had violated LNC policy.
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when you became aware of this information.
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted a violation of LNC policy?
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
To my current knowledge and recollection, no LNC employee, other
than Perry Willis, has willfully violated any LNC policy.
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates
of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
payment. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and the stated purpose of each payment.
No.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you
have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this information.
I have the impression that some expense reimbursements were made
but I have not investigated and have no direct knowledge of such.
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC of conflicts of interest.)
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
I assisted Steve Dasbach in his research of A. above to the
extent of helping locate relevant files. Bill Redpath is now in
possesion of those files and I am unable to supply details. For B & C, I
have no knowledge of the dates, amounts, payees or stated purpose of
payments made by Jack Dean or any other third party.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
No.
--
--
Dan Gallagher:
Subject: Help with the Willis matter inquiry
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 11:16:01 -0400
From: GALLAGHD <GALLAGHD@compuserve.com>
To: James Lark <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear Jim:
I was hired very shortley before the 96 convention - I think it was in
June of 96 - by Perry and frankly did not know which end was up, or who
was who until well after the convention. After the convention direction
direction of our effort was completely forward toward the general
election and I do not recall any conversations regarding the nomination
process. I have answered the specific question below,however, as you
requested
Yours,
Dan Gallagher
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed undisclosed work for
the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were
you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that Mr.
Willis had performed this work?
***No.
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when
you became aware of this information.
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted
a violation of LNC policy?
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for
nomination) prior to nomination? More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president
(or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please provide this
information.
***I had heard that Bill Winter had done some work for the Browne
campaign,
but don't know when it started or stopped. My general impression was
that
the work was done early in the Browne effort.
6. If you have worked as an L.P. employee, did you receive any payments
during your service as an L.P. employee from the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and
the stated purpose of each payment. Did you receive any payments during
your service as an L.P. employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear &
Associates or Optopia) that served in some type of contractor capacity
for
the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other
candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996
or
2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates of the
payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each payment.
***I received payments from nobody other than the Party itself. Nor was
I
ever offered any. I worked only for the party, no outside contracting.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for
President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to
then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee? Do you have
any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this
information.
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to
a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC
of conflicts of interest.)
***Don't have any information
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which
he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates, amounts,
and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and
1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such
payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
***The accounting records should show any such payments. There was no
second set of books or funds that I am aware of that existed beyond out
federal and non-federal accounts.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
***No.
George Getz:
Subject: Willis inquiry
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 18:05:38 -0400
From: George Getz <GGetz@hq.lp.org>
To: "Lark, Jim" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear Jim:
Here is my response to the questions that you have e-mailed to the LP HQ
staff. Because of the importance of this, please let me know that you
have received it.
Thank you,
George Getz
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
No, I was not.
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination?
No.
More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
No.
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000?
No.
Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000?
No.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee?
No.
Do you have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC
members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000?
No.
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C?
No.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry?
No.
--
--
Marc Montoni:
Subject: Re: Help with the Willis matter inquiry
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 07:59:51 -0400
From: Marc Montoni <Marc@lpva.com>
To: "James W. Lark, III" <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear Jim,
I hope all is well with you.
As I departed full-time employment by the party in 1993, I have no
information.
I have, over the past two or three years, served as a temp worker for
Nick; but only in a part-time capacity and usually to either help
catch-up clerical work such as entering donations; or in the form of
performing
wiring changes such as moving data or phone ports around (which is what
I do in my day job).
I have no information relevant to your inquiry.
-- Marc
At 04:06 AM 07/20/2001 -0400, James W. Lark, III wrote:
>Dear Marc:
>
> I hope all is well with you and Ellissa. I am fine, though very
>busy.
>
> I am writing to request your help with the Willis matter inquiry.
I
>have enclosed below the message I am sending to several people,
>including former LNC members and L.P. staff, to request their
>assistance. Please let me know as soon as possible if you have any
--
--
Peter Orvetti:
Subject: Re: Help with the Willis matter inquiry
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 11:48:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Peter J.M. Orvetti" <orvetti@yahoo.com>
To: James Lark <jwl3s@virginia.edu>
Dear Dr. Lark,
Thank you for your message. I am glad to assist in clearing up the truth
in this matter.
As you may know, I left the employ of LNC, Inc., due to my frustration
with my position. However, I wish to state unequivocally that at no time
during my tenure did I witness any untoward, unethical, or even
questionable behavior.
Further, in my presence both Mr. Dasbach and Mr. Winter maintained the
objectivity and impartiality of
the LNC during the 2000 nomination campaign. To my knowledge, no one in
the office had interactions with the Browne campaign.
Best,
PJO
--
--
Dianne Pilcher:
Subject: RE: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 12:55:32 -0500
From: Dianne Pilcher <DiannePilcher@hq.lp.org>
To: Jim Lark/LNC/SPT <chair@lp.org>
CC: Steve Dasbach <SteveDasbach@hq.lp.org>
Response from Dianne Pilcher, LPHQ Staff
July 31, 2001
Questions:
1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved work for the
Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996 national convention.
Were you aware at any point before the April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that
Mr. Willis had performed this work?
No.
2. If your answer to question 1 is yes, please indicate how you became
aware of this information and provide your best estimate of the date
when you became aware of this information.
N/A
3. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware before April
21, 2001 that the work by Mr. Willis referred to in question 1
constituted a violation of LNC policy?
N/A
4. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then were you aware that Mr.
Willis had concealed the work referred to in question 1 from the LNC?
N/A
5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees (past or
present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for the 1996
Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
for nomination) prior to nomination?
No.
More generally, do you have any
information about L.P. employees (past or present) who during their L.P.
employment performed work for the campaign of any candidate for
president (or vice president) prior to nomination? If so, please
provide this information.
No.
6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any
other candidate for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of
1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide a list of the dates
of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated purpose of each
payment.
No.
Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes,
please provide a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid,
and the stated purpose of each payment.
No.
7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the Browne
for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000 were made
to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National Committee?
No.
Do you
have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC members
were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia) that
served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for President
campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the presidential or
vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so, please provide
this information.
No.
(NOTE: Payments from a presidential campaign or one of its contractors
to a then-sitting LNC member is not necessarily an indicator of improper
behavior. However, LNC members have an affirmative duty to inform the
LNC of conflicts of interest.)
8. During the May 23, 2001 meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Libertarian Party, L.P. secretary Steve Givot suggested that answers to
the following questions be sought:
A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
such payment?
Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If so,
please provide this information.
No.
9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
relevant to this inquiry? If so, please provide this information.
No.
--
--
Dan Smith:
Mr. Smith informed me during a telephone conversation on July 26 that
he had no idea that Mr. Willis or anyone else at the LP national office
had acted improperly.
Jonathan Trager:
Subject: Willis Inquiry
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:09:39 -0400
From: Jonathan Trager <JonathanTrager@hq.lp.org>
To: jwl3s@virginia.edu
Mr. Lark:
I did not start my job at the LP until March 12, 2001. Prior to that
time, I had not knowledge about the party's inside operation, and
therefore have no information to offer regarding the Willis
investigation. I hope this statement is satisfactory.
In Liberty,
Jonathan Trager
--
--
Bill Winter:
Subject: Inquiry message for LP staff
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 19:11:14 -0400
From: William Winter <73163.3063@compuserve.com>
To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com
Jim:
> 1. Perry Willis has indicated that he performed unapproved
> work for the Browne for President campaign prior to the 1996
> national convention. Were you aware at any point before the
> April 21, 2001 LNC meeting that Mr. Willis had performed this
> work?
To the best of my recollection, no.
> 5. Do you have any information about any other L.P. employees
> (past or present) who during their L.P. employment performed work
> for the 1996 Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of
> any other candidate for nomination) prior to nomination? More
> generally, do you have any information about L.P. employees (past
> or present) who during their L.P. employment performed work for
> the campaign of any candidate for president (or vice president)
> prior to nomination?
As you know (and as was revealed to the LNC in August and December
1995), I did freelance graphic design work for the Harry Browne for
President campaign, and for Jo Jorgensen's campaign for the vice
presidential nomination. I have no knowledge about any other employees
doing any work (other than Perry Willis).
> 6. Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
> employee from the Browne for President campaign (or the campaign
> of any nother candidate for the presidential or vice presidential
> nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If your answer is yes, please provide
> a list of the dates of the payments, the amounts paid, and the stated
> purpose of each payment.
Yes. I received payments from both the Browne and Jorgensen campaigns
for graphic design work. I'm afraid I don't have a comprehensive list of
such payments (date or amount); however, any payments to me would be
listed in their FEC reports. As I recall, payments from the Browne
campaign amounted to about $2,000 - $3,000 over about a year; I may have
received $400 - $500 from the Jorgensen campaign. The payments would
have been in 1995, with perhaps one final one in early 1996. As I
recall, I ended my contractual agreements with both Browne and Jorgensen
in late 1995, and probably would have finished a last few projects in
early 1996.
By way of explanation: I have always done freelance work on an
irregular, ad hoc basis, and have no bookkeeping system to track jobs or
payments. Thus, I have no easy way to try to assemble a list of
payments that were made five or six years ago. However, as I said, all
the Browne campaign's payments to me would be listed in their (public)
FEC reports.
> Have you received any payments during your service as an L.P.
> employee from firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or Optopia)
> that served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for
> President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
> presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000?
No.
> 7. Do you have any information as to whether payments from the
> Browne for President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate
> for the presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000
> were made to then-sitting members of the Libertarian National
Committee?
> Do you have any information as to whether payments to then-sitting LNC
> members were made by firms (such as Dean, Spear & Associates or
Optopia)
> that served in some type of contractor capacity for the Browne for
> President campaign (or the campaign of any other candidate for the
> presidential or vice presidential nomination) of 1996 or 2000? If so,
> please provide this information.
I know Sharon Ayres received payments as Browne's campaign manager.
However, whether those payments began before or after the nomination, I
could not say.
> A. What payments were made by the Party to Jack Dean or any firm in
> which he was involved in 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the dates,
> amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
> B. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
> involved to Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996, and 1997? What were the
> dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each such payment?
> C. What payments were made by Mr. Dean or any firm in which he was
> involved to any L.P. employee other than Mr. Willis during 1995, 1996,
> and 1997? What were the dates, amounts, and stated purpose of each
> such payment?
> Do you have any information pertaining to questions A, B, or C? If
so,
> please provide this information.
I have no information about this.
> 9. Do you have any additional information that you believe would be
> relevant to this inquiry?
No.
Bill Winter
Director of Communications
Libertarian Party
Bill.Winter@hq.LP.org