Pennsylvania Congressman Is Under F.B.I. Scrutiny, Court Records Show

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/us/politics/fbi-robert-brady-campaign-finance.html

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WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. is investigating whether Representative Robert A. Brady of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, illegally paid a political opponent $90,000 to drop out of a 2012 primary race, court documents show.

Two of Mr. Brady’s political consultants have already been charged in a campaign finance investigation of the congressman’s 2012 re-election. But a recently unsealed application for a search warrant suggests Mr. Brady may be a target of the inquiry.

The allegations involve payments the Brady campaign made to the campaign of Jimmie Moore, a former Municipal Court judge in Philadelphia who ended his run for Congress in February 2012.

In the search warrant application, the F.B.I. said the payments were disguised as reimbursement for a poll and funneled through shell companies created by Mr. Brady’s aides “for the sole purpose of using money from the Brady campaign to repay Moore campaign debts.”

According to the court papers, Mr. Moore, who is cooperating with the government, told law enforcement officials that he attended a meeting in February 2012 with Mr. Brady arranged by W. Wilson Goode Sr., the former mayor of Philadelphia. At that meeting, Mr. Moore said, Mr. Brady agreed to pay $90,000 toward Mr. Moore’s campaign debts, in exchange for Mr. Moore’s agreement to drop out of the race.

“In that conversation, Brady and Moore agreed and understood that the payment from Brady’s campaign to Moore’s campaign would be disguised, and the deception would include hiding at least some of the Bob Brady for Congress campaign funds as the purchase of the aforementioned poll,” the affidavit stated.

The F.B.I. filed the search warrant in an effort to obtain access to Mr. Brady’s AOL email account. A lawyer for the congressman, James Eisenhower, said Mr. Brady had already turned over emails to the government and was cooperating in the investigation.

“Congressman Brady is not a target of the investigation,” Mr. Eisenhower said. “He’s been cooperating fully for many months, and he’s done nothing wrong.”

Additionally, Philadelphia newspapers have reported that Mr. Brady maintains the payments were legal and properly documented and were carried out by his subordinates.

As part of a plea deal, Mr. Moore was found guilty last month of the charge of causing false statements to the Federal Election Commission. His campaign chairwoman also pleaded guilty to the same charge.