Rainbow/Push, Jesse Jackson fined by FEC

Michelle Malkin had this on her blog yesterday, meant to post it then, but I got sidetracked by other things.

But Chicago Sun-Times has caught up to AP and Michelle with this article in today's edition.

From that article, by Lynn Sweet:

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Democratic National Committee and another Jackson entity will pay $200,000 in fines for campaign finance law violations in the 2000 presidential election stemming from a complaint by a prominent conservative lobbying organization.

The civil penalties were announced Thursday by the Federal Election Commission in a case filed by the American Conservative Union. The complaint followed a speaking tour in which Jackson stumped for Democrats at more than 120 events between September and November 2000. The FEC found Jackson's travels, officially nonpartisan, were actually done on behalf of Democratic candidates.

Sweet goes on to write that as a nonprofit, tax exempt organization, these payments violated the law.

Flashforward to 2007: The Reverend Jackson's son, Jesse Jr., may be a candidate for mayor of Chicago.