"Promising Future" might have a couple of bumps in it's path
KELO is reporting tonight that a civil complaint has been filed against Roger Hunt's corporation "Promising Future" has had a civil complaint filed against it in order to determine the controversy over whether or not it has to disclose the source of it's funds:
According to state law, a "ballot question committee" consists of two or more people who raise money to influence a ballot issue. Now a judge will decide whether that definition includes Roger Hunt's corporation Promising Future.Read it all here.
Hunt sees the definition one way.
"A corporation basically, in many cases in our state laws and case law, is held to be one person. It's not divisible by all of its shareholders," he says.
But, Secretary of State Chris Nelson believes the corporation is one "person." The shareholder who donated all the money is another person, and the corporation's attorney Roger Hunt potentially is a third person.
Hunt points out he isn't being prosecuted for breaking the law, and he suggests Attorney General Larry Long doesn't totally agree with Nelson's interpretation of the law.
Comments
Hunt's interpretation of the law is flimsy at best, frivolous at worst. If I were an oddsmaker I would rate Hunt's odds of winning as a 20-1 longshot. Once a court determines that, Hunt will have to make both a legal and a political calculation.
Will he appeal an adverse circuit court determination to the SD Supreme Court where he will likely lose again? Or should he just accept the circuit court's ruling and disclose his donors? And how will the voters of district 10 react after he loses in circuit court if he continues on with an appeal and loses again? And when he loses, will he be prosecuted? What will the voters think of that? And what will the voters think of Hunt again costing taxpayer dollars for these suits that determine that his legal interpretation is wrong?
The Court will ultimately order Hunt to disclose his donors, and Hunt's political career is over with this term.