VIRGINIA AG CUCCINELLI DUMPS $55,000 IN BOBBY THOMPSON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS WHILE BACHMANN HANGS ONTO HER $10,000 DONATION

U.S. Navy Veterans Association Commander disappeared after investigations began into his allegedly fraudulent organization, but his paper trail leads to Bachmann’s 2010 re-election campaign.

By Karl Bremer © Copyright 2010

Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced today that he is donating $55,000 in campaign contributions from U.S. Navy Veterans Association Commander-on-the-lam Bobby Thompson to a committee of veterans in Virginia, who will distribute the money to legitimate veterans organizations.

That leaves Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as perhaps the lone candidate running for office who has not washed her hands of Thompson’s campaign cash. Bachmann received $10,000 from Thompson (PDF) at an April 7, 2010 Minneapolis fundraiser with former halftime Gov. Sarah Palin. When Bachmann’s connections to the growing national scandal surrounding Thompson and the USNVA were exposed in an exclusive report on DumpBachmann, she refused to give away the donation but chose instead to “freeze” the funds in some unexplained way.

Bachmann Campaign Manager Gina Countryman told the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “We will be freezing the money pending the results of the investigations,” and claimed Bachmann didn’t know her $10,000 fugitive donor.

“Congresswoman Bachmann believes people are innocent until proven guilty. However, she wants to ensure her campaign is above reproach and maintains the highest of ethical standards.”

That was Virginia Attorney General Cuccinelli’s initial response too, but even he eventually got the drift of the political winds as the investigation by his state’s Office of Consumer Affairs revved up.

“We were practicing the principle of presumed innocence with Bobby Thompson, awaiting proof from law enforcement that the money he had given the campaign was either a legitimate donation or was not his to give,” Cuccinelli said in a statement issued by his campaign.

“With Mr. Thompson's recent disappearance and apparent unwillingness to maintain contact with his own attorneys, it seems that he does not wish to defend himself or the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. Because of this, I chose to divest my campaign of any funds associated with Mr. Thompson,” he added.

When contacted about the status of Bachmann’s $10,000 contribution from USNVA Commander Bobby Thompson, Bachmann Campaign Manager Gina Countryman responded: “Right now I’m packing up my kid and can’t take this right now,” and hung up the phone.

Countryman has not responded to repeated inquiries from this writer about Bachmann’s connection to Bobby Thompson and the USNVA.

Karl Bremer is a freelance writer in Stillwater, MN. He can be reached at saintcroix [at] aol.com.