Any Chance we will see this story in the McLean Patch? McAuliffe reroutes inaugural funds to political groups..

 - The Washington Times Wednesday, February 5, 2014The Virginia legislature years ago banned governors from donating excess inauguration funds topolitical causes, but that hasn't stopped Gov. Terry McAuliffe from finding a way to route $211,000from his inaugural fund back to his election campaign and the Virginia Democratic Party, disclosurerecords show.Mr. McAuliffe's aides say the two $78,000 checks his inaugural committee sent to his campaigncommittee along with a $55,000 check to the state Democratic Party were expenditures for the rentalof email lists. But campaign finance analysts told The Washington Times that the costs of the emailrentals appeared to be exorbitant, and critics suggest the transactions look like an end run aroundthe state prohibition."It's Terry McAuliffe," said Bradley A. Smith, a Federal Election Commission member during theGeorge W. Bush administration. "It's probably legal, but it may make you raise an eyebrow."Mr. Smith said such transactions sometimes occur to abolish a committee's debt or to get a campaignsome assets."Here, you have the campaign maybe trying to retire debt or whatever, so they may actually be payingtoo much for the list," he said. "My gut is that if somebody really wanted to prove this, it might be worthsnooping around a little bit more."Mr. McAuliffe's campaign defended the transactions in November and December as legitimateexpenditures to invite people to Mr. McAuliffe's inauguration in Richmond. The payments were listedin the most recent report his inaugural fundraising committee filed.Republicans, who tried unsuccessfully to defeat Mr. McAuliffe in the November election by focusing onethics issues related to his earlier career as a major political fundraiser for Bill Clinton and HillaryRodham Clinton, jumped on the revelations.V