Pro-Corbett Donation Violated State Law

You may have heard of Sheldon Adelson. He’s the Las Vegas gambling mogul who basically subsidized Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign long past the point of Gingrich’s viability, and he’s increasingly the deep-pocketed donor of choice sought out by GOP candidates for every type of office.  In Pennsylvania, though, his campaign donations break the law. Which turns out to be a pain for Gov. Tom Corbett. 

See: State law prohibits in-state casino owners from making donations to in-state candidates or political action committees.  Adelson owns 7 percent of the Sands Casino Report in Betlehem. But technically, Adelson did not contribute directly to either Corbett or any in-state PAC supporting him.

Instead, Adelson gave nearly $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, headed by our Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, which then moved almost all of that cash into its “RGA Pennsylvania 2014 PAC” supporting Corbett’s re-election.

The error has been corrected, officials say.

“The RGA has transferred the donation out of the Pennsylvania account,” an RGA spokesman told the Daily News’ Chris Brennan. “It’s clear Democrats are desperate to talk about anything other than Tom Wolf’s failed record.” (Chris Brennan/Daily News)