Today, the Michigan Democratic Party filed an FEC complaint based on new information showing that the alleged illegal coordination between John James’ campaign and dark money group Better Future Michigan, run by his former campaign manager, is worse than previously disclosed. In a letter responding to allegations made in an initial FEC complaint that outline how Better Future Michigan Executive Director Tori Sachs failed to follow the FEC’s 120-day cooling off period rules, Sachs exposed her wrongdoing even further by admitting to facts that strongly suggest she illegally established the group as an agent for James, potentially just days after leaving his campaign payroll.
Here are the facts:
- In a letter responding to allegations that Better Future Michigan Executive Director Tori Sachs failed to follow the 120-day cooling off period before running negative ads against his opponent, Sachs exposed herself even further.
- Sachs’ letter admits her work for the James campaign ended in May 2019 and she was then hired as the founding executive director of Better Future Michigan on June 1, 2019. James filed his statement of candidacy for Senate on June 6, 2019 and Better Future Michigan was incorporated June 12, 2019.
- In trying to deny allegations of illegal coordination, Tori Sachs appears to have inadvertently revealed that she may have also illegally established the group as an agent of John James. Sachs was hired as Executive Director at Better Future Michigan prior to its incorporation and mere days after she stopped her work for the James campaign.
“John James’ top political aide just admitted to the same type of wrongdoing she was attempting to deny,” said MDP spokesperson Elena Kuhn. “Tori Sachs’ admission makes clear that she did not just allegedly violate the FEC’s 120-day cooling off period – she may have also broken campaign finance law by setting up this shady organization on behalf of James. As James spends more time with out-of-state GOP mega-donors than talking to Michigan voters, the potentially illegal formation of this dark money group raises serious concerns about James’ ethical conduct and attempts to buy this U.S. Senate seat.”
