Stephan seeks Kline fundraising probe

Former Atty. Gen. Bob Stephan on Wednesday called for an investigation into the fundraising of current Atty. Gen. Phill Kline.

Stephan requested that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission look into Kline’s fundraising at churches and $41,552 in unitemized contributions he reported on his campaign finance statement filed this week.

“It is very difficult to pin anything down, and that’s why I have asked for this investigation,” Stephan said in an interview with the Journal-World.

Kline’s campaign spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones, denied any impropriety. “Bob Stephan doesn’t have all the facts,” Jones said.

Letter to Ethics Commission

Stephan served as attorney general from 1979 to 1995. He later became a special assistant to Kline until he resigned several weeks ago, later saying it was because of Kline’s fundraising tactics. Both men are Republicans.

In a letter Wednesday, Stephan urged the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission to launch a probe into several aspects of Kline’s fundraising.

“An investigation is necessary to ensure that the integrity of our campaign finance laws is not being violated,” Stephan said.

Carol Williams, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said she couldn’t comment on the matter.

Under Kansas law, candidates on their campaign finance reports can lump together contributions of $50 or less into unitemized amounts.

In Kline’s finance record filed Monday, he reported raising $613,777 between July 21 and Oct. 26. Of that amount, $41,552 was listed as unitemized contributions of $50 or less.

That was far more in unitemized contributions than any of the other statewide candidates listed.

For example, Kline’s Democratic challenger Paul Morrison raised twice as much as Kline – $1.25 million – and listed only $50 in unitemized contributions.

“The people of Kansas deserve to know who’s funding Phill Kline’s campaign,” said Morrison spokesman Mark Simpson.

But Jones, Kline’s spokeswoman, said the reason for the large number of unitemized contributions was in consideration of the contributors.

“We chose not to (itemize) for the privacy of the donors, so they wouldn’t feel like they had to compete,” with larger givers, Jones said.

Jones said the campaign had the records of all donors and would be glad to share that with the Ethics Commission if it was requested. She said some contributions of less than $50 were itemized because those contributors had given more than once.

SWT donations

Stephan said he also wanted the Ethics Commission to look into Kline’s practice of speaking at churches and raising campaign funds.

He said he was concerned about churches making donations to SWT Communications, which is owned by Kline’s wife, Deborah, and then an SWT donation to Kline’s campaign.

In addition, he said he was confused as to why SWT Communications was paid $3,600 by the Kline campaign for storage of campaign material in a storage unit on the Klines’ property.

Kline has denied anything was improper about his fundraising at churches and contributions made to SWT.

Jones said SWT produces spots for radio broadcast and also acts like a booking agency that assists churches by lining up speakers. When Kline is speaking at a church, outside of his role as attorney general, he is like an employee of SWT, she said.

Kline was under fire earlier in the campaign when a memo he wrote surfaced in which he told his staff that after he spoke at a church, they needed to line up contributors.

Also on Tuesday, the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a July appearance by Kline at a Topeka church and the church’s subsequent $1,339 donation to SWT Communications. Another group, the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, made a similar request last month.