Chellie Pingree, Donald Sussman, and ACORN

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As the nation begins to open their eyes to the abuses of ACORN, the relationship between 1st CD Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and the notorious nonprofit is starting to raise eyebrows.

Chellie Pingree, as detailed in earlier reports on this blog, has ties with one of the group's major benefactors, Drummond Pike. But perhaps more interesting are the substantial donations for ACORN that came from a small cadre of billionaire activists, including one Donald Sussman.

S. Donald Sussman is a hedge-fund manager. He, along with George Soros, the SEIU, and Hollywood businessman Steve Bing, formed a 527 group called 'Fund for America' in 2008. Sussman donated $1 million to the fund, which in turn, donated $200,000 of that money to ACORN.

NPR reported on the group here, and the Center for Investigative Reporting detailed the contributions here.

Donald Sussman is a name well known in Maine political circles. Besides his extensive support for the CasinosNO! campaign, Mr. Sussman has dabbled in Maine politics through a good friend, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. Here's how The Bollard's Chris Busby described the financial relationship between Sussman and Pingree last year, when primary candidate Ethan Strimling began complaining about it:

Last month, The Bollard reported that Pingree had raked in nearly $60,000 from people associated with Paloma Partners, a hedge fund headquartered in the Virgin Islands. Further digging by Strimling’s campaign has revealed that Pingree’s haul from Paloma and companies associated with its lead partner, S. Donald Sussman, exceeds $100,000.

Further into the piece, Busby tries to get comment from Team Pingree about the relationship:

Pingree’s communications director, Willy Ritch, said he was unaware that Sussman and his related companies had given Pingree over $100,000. “We don’t know what every donor’s relationship is with other people,” he said. “We don’t track that stuff down.” 
Asked if there was a limit to the amount of money Pingree is willing to accept from Sussman associates, Ritch said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”

Ritch's comments were, of course, ludicrous. Especially in light of some further reporting Busby did, in a piece titled 'Chasing Chellie', where he outlines the strong but unconfirmed rumor that Pingree and Sussman are romantically involved. The idea that Pingree would be unaware that employees of a close friend/possible boyfriend were donating tens of thousands of dollars toward her campaign doesn't pass the straight-face test.

Pingree continues to receive financial support from both Sussman and his hedge-fund employees. In her latest campaign filing, Pingree shows a one-day haul of $43,200 from employees of Sussman's Paloma Partners, on July 29. (This could indicate that Sussman held some kind of fundraiser for Pingree on this day, or it could simply indicate sloppy FEC reporting, a trait Pingree has been known for since her unsuccessful 2002 run against Susan Collins.)

In light of his substantial financial support for ACORN, Sussman's personal and financial ties to Congresswoman Pingree further color the picture of Pingree and ACORN as fellow travelers. The recent scandals make it reasonable to wonder about the specifics of Pingree's relationship with the group. The United States Senate has cut off HUD funding to the group, the Census Bureau has severed ties, the Brooklyn District Attorney has launched an investigation, and House Republicans have introduced legislation to completely cut them off from Federal money. Given the near-certainty that Pingree will be casting votes on further government funding of ACORN, it would not be unreasonable for a member of the Maine press to ask Pingree for a comment on the issue.

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