What rises to the level of “private inurement” and “private benefit?”
A member ofCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) filed a Form 211, Application for Award for OriginalInformation to get to the bottom of what CREW deemed “self-dealingtransactions” involving the James Madison Center for Free Speech (JMCFS), JamesBopp Jr., and The Bopp Law Firm.
CREW allegesthat Mr. Bopp, head of JMCFS, has “diverted nearly all of the non-profit fundsto pay his own law firm” and those transactions “violate prohibitions on usingcharitable organization for private inurement and private benefit.” CREW’saddendum to the Form 211 claims that from 2006-2011, JMCFS’s total expenditureswere $2,133,268 and $2,129,014 of that money was paid to the Bopp Law Firm.
The JMCFS wasfounded “to protect the First Amendment right of all citizens to free politicalexpression in our democratic Republic.” Additionally, JMCFS asserts that itspurpose is “to support litigation and public education activities in order todefend the rights of political expression and association by citizens and citizengroups as guaranteed by the First Amendment.” In addition to Mr. Bopp servingas the head of JMCFS, he has dedicated his law firm to providing legalassistance to people and organizations with principles like JMCFS.
What facts, ifany, are indicative of private inurement and private benefit? Does CREW haveenough to prove its case?
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