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- Fox Corp.’s political action committee reported “void” five contributions made to Democratic congressional campaigns.
- “Expired check” was the reason Fox PAC offered for three of the failed contributions.
- While Fox News caters to conservatives, its parent company’s PAC is notably bipartisan.
Something must be screwy when politicians — some of whom will beg, plead, and even mislead in a quest for money — reject campaign contributions.
But five Democratic congressional committees appear to have together rejected $12,500 in donations from Fox PAC, the political action committee run by Fox News’ parent company, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Fox PAC reported “void” a $5,000 contribution it made on December 20 to Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, who’s running for an open US Senate seat in his home state.
It likewise reported that a $1,500 contribution it made three days later to Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas was “void” — although it told federal regulators that it “reissued” the contribution on February 9.
Three other Fox PAC campaign contributions from late 2020 — $2,500 to Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, $2,500 to Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, and $1,000 to former Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, who’s now a senior advisor to President Joe Biden — also fell fallow. The reason offered for each: “expired check.”
Federal Election Commission
Representatives for Fox PAC and the Democratic political committees did not respond to Insider’s inquiries.
Despite Fox News’ reputation for catering to conservatives, Fox PAC’s contributions of late are decidedly bipartisan.
During the 2019-2020 election cycle, for example, it almost evenly split its $187,500 in federal-level candidate contributions between Democrats and Republicans, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets.
During the 2021-2022 election cycle, its $106,000 in contributions to federal-level candidates have slightly favored Republicans.
Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch is a leading donor to Fox PAC, which is generally funded by company executives, according to FEC records.
Corporate PACs of this sort may raise limited amounts of money — $5,000 per year from individuals, per federal rules. Such PACs may, in turn, contribute money to political candidates and other political committees and also directly advocate for or against candidates through political advertisements.
Fox PAC ended January with $200,150 in reserve, according to its latest federal filing.
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