Sylvia Astrida Doucette-Ladien, of Chicago, Illinois, and her husband, Dr. Kimball Ladien, a psychiatrist in Lakeview, both gave political donations of $2,500 each, in the form of "in kind advertising," to Orly Taitz during her run for the U.S. Senate earlier this year.

Links for rikker: Sylvia's contribution here; her husband Kimball's contribution here.

According to the Federal Election Commission's Citizens' Guide, $2,500 is the maximum donation that any one individual can give to a federal candidate. The Guide says:

I have no idea what the specific advertising was that the Ladiens contributed. But here's the curious thing:

Sylvia Ladien died on Feb. 4, 2012. RIP Sylvia. But her donation to Orly (see link above) was dated May 27, 2012, which is 113 days after she died.

Maybe that was some other Sylvia Astrida Doucette-Ladien, who also lived in Chicago. But probably not.

It's really difficult for dead people to contribute to political campaigns. They have all kinds of trouble signing checks and so forth; they have no business making political contributions after they die. Orly, who is an expert on political campaigns and a tireless crusader against election fraud of any kind and for obeying the rules about political campaigns, should know this quite well. There's obviously a suspicion that Dr. Kimball Ladien, in his enthusiasm for Orly's candidacy in another state, made an illegal contribution in his dead wife's name, amounting to double the legally allowable amount.

Bad Dr. Kimball.

I know what you're thinking: Picky, picky, huh? She probably would have wanted to give Orly $2,500 for her election campaign, if she had managed to still be alive on the day she made the donation. Husbands know these things. But the FEC can be picky. This is actually a serious thing.

This situation was explicitly brought to Orly's attention, early last month, by certified letter. Orly's signature appears on the receipt. She can't really say that she didn't know about this, umm ... anomaly. As the FEC's Guide said, she and/or her campaign committee have a duty to report this and correct it. But instead - get ready for a shock - she seems to have simply ignored it and kept the donation. She didn't correct the filing, and she didn't pay back the amount of the "in kind" phony donation.

So the whole situation was brought to the attention of the Federal Election Commission.

Today I learned (and have been given permission to reveal) that the matter was referred to the Enforcement Division of the FEC, and that they've sent notice to the Chaleria that she has 15 days to show cause why a full investigation shouldn't be undertaken.

So I assume we can anticipate a lawsuit against the FEC in the very near future, accusing them of criminal complicity and treason in allowing a usurper with forged IDs and a stolen Social Security number [redacted] and forged Selective Service registration to occupy the position of the presidency. The best defense is a good offense, and all that.

Or maybe she'll return the donation immediately and ask for forgiveness from the FEC.

OK, that was a joke. Orly ain't giving no stinkin' donation back to a dead woman. How would Sylvia benefit from that?

More will be revealed ...

So that's what happened to that story

Was it the 15-day deadline that was up a couple of days ago, or was that the time for Orly to get the things in order?

So could this ripen into a criminal matter?

Deadlines, schmeadlines, I always say.

In other words, I didn't personally participate in this one. I don't know what the exact deadlines are, though I assume that the time began to run the day she signed the receipt for the certified letter documenting the problem.

As far as I'm aware, the person who handled this followed all the rules exactly, which is why the FEC has decided to take action.

I'm just revealing this because the person who was involved wishes to stay anonymous. I can say that it wasn't George Soros or James Johnson. Beyond that, my lips are sealed and speculation is uninvited. Perchance some kind soul will edumacate us on deadlines and stuff, further on down the road ...

I imagine it could. In truth, I'm not an expert on political campaigns and a tireless crusader against election fraud of any kind and for obeying the rules about political campaigns.

I think we need to ask Orly if it's going to ripen into a criminal case, and if so, whether it's her or the FEC who may be facing charges.

Especially since Orly doesn't need any help inventing more people to sue or reasons to sue them....

Ok, this makes 2 days in a row I've had to say this,

I know it's bad form to take pleasure at the misfortunes of others, but..



Maybe I can get Judge Reid to put that on a rubber stamp for me.

A big fat "well done" to the person or persons who brought this to the attention of the FEC. Politicians (or wannabe politicians) bending the rules really frost my grill.

OMG, Orly's a scofflaw?
How can that be?
She's a lawyer and stuff
Goes after crime and fraud and stuff.
Can't be.

Have we ever seen Orly's financial disclosure statement(s) filed with the U.S. Senate?

Well, they are from Chicago, where it has been said that political activity extends even to the grave.

Exhibit A to the often stated suspicion that the reason Orly sees conspiracies, fraud and malversations everywhere is because she is guilty of it herself.

I love waking up in PDT and the smell of a new thread in the morning to blend with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

If I am not still too sleepy and misreading the FEC rules, it seems that civil penalties could range from $16,000 to $60,000 with a remote possibility of referral for prosecution by DOJ
for "knowing and willful" violations. Is my first cup of joe analysis correct?

"With respect to the civil penalty, the Act provides that a conciliation agreement entered
into by the Commission may require that the respondent pay a civil penalty “which does
not exceed the greater of $5,000 or an amount equal to any contribution or expenditure
involved.” 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(5)(A). In 2009, the statutory penalty was adjusted for
inflation to $7,500. See 11 CFR 111.24(a)(1) (2009). If a respondent knowingly and
willfully violates the Act, the Act provides for a civil penalty “which does not exceed the
greater of $10,000 or an amount equal to 200 percent of any contribution or expenditure
involved.” 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(5)(B). The statutory penalty of $10,000 was adjusted for
inflation in 2009 to $16,000. See 11 CFR 111.24(a)(2)(i) (2009). Finally, for knowing
and willful violations of 2 U.S.C. § 441f— contributions made in the name of another—
the Act provides for a civil penalty “which is not less than 300 percent of the amount
involved in the violation and is not more than the greater of $50,000 or 1000 percent of
the amount involved in the violation.” 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(5)(B). The statutory penalty
of $50,000 was adjusted for inflation to $60,000 in 2009. 11 CFR 111.24(a)(2)(ii)."


"If the Commission determines that there is probable cause to believe that knowing and
willful violations occurred, it may refer such violations to the DOJ for possible criminal
prosecution. 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(5)(C)."

http://www.fec.gov/em/respondent_guide.pdf

Note that the fine is heavier for the "contributions made in the name of another," implying a greater degree of civil wrongdoing. Combine that
with the "knowing and willful" standard for referral to DOJ, and you may very well see the FEC go through with such a referral. Luckily, Orly has an
excellent relationship with DOJ!

Hmmm. Dr. Kimbal from Chicago.

Maybe it was a mysterious, one armed man.

All I can say is....very nice.

A lawyer could be disbarred for this sort of thing, ya know.

Except in California so far....

I don't think Orly wants this expanding into a full investigation as we know she's not too good at keeping records of donations, campaign expenditures, etc. I wouldn't be too surprised to find out that she's been mixing donations from her Senate campaign with donations for her Orlylaw cases.

When asked to provide an accounting of how these funds were kept separate and how each was spent, Orly might have a real problem, a really big problem! She might even get distracted from her cases and stuff, yaknowwhatImean? Sumbuddy got to the FEC, that's the only explanation for it. Obama's running scared of her electoral college threat, that's gotta be it!

That's a very good point. Once they start looking into Orly's finances, it's very likely she's screwed up in many, many other ways. Willful violations generally get higher fines. A few $50K fines for various violations and Orly is looking at serious money.

I'd also venture a guess she will try to defraud the FEC by destroying evidence and otherwise breaking the law.

Any guesses as to how this might affect the man who actually made the donation in his dead wife's name? Any way Orly can put this back on him and skate once again?

Orly does have a way of throwing her supporters under the bus, doesn't she? Anyone else who considers themselves to be an Orly supporter might want to make note of this.

She would have had that option earlier. Self-reporting is what an honest, law abiding person does. It is entirely possible she was unaware of the illegal donation before Someone was kind enough to inform her of it in a provable way.

Now, the fraudulent donor may be in hot water, too, but Orly has herself willfully violated the law. Since her offense is failure to self-report, and instead pocketing the money she knew was donated illegally, she's on the hook for that. She cannot now screech that it is someone else's fault.

Well, she can, but it won't work. The FEC will want its pound of flesh.

The donations in question were for "In-Kind Advertising" for ads on KFI Radio. In one of her REEKO filings she names radio show host, John Kobylt (although she spelled his name wrong) and mentions her direct involvement in the advertising run on KFI, that she had expected a quid pro quo for placing the ads. Once again showing her complete ignorance of how the world works outside of her delusional corner, she had told the radio station in placing the ads that John & Ken had to stop making fun of her; they didn't so John, the nasty one, was made a plaintiff.

My point is, these contributions weren't at arms length. Both OrLena and Kimball Ladien are in trouble. He's no stranger to these kinds of problems, he's as kooky as Orly. But first they have to deal with Orly.

Orly will claim that since the woman was dead, she didn't know who to send the money to and she'll also remind them that she's working on a case that's bigger than "the Watergate", the most important case in the history of our country, a matter of national security cuz we have a furriner in the White House w/forged IDz & stuffs! She don't have time to be bothered with no stinkin' donations from a dead woman, can't you people see how bizzy she is?? Jeebus!

In the meantime, it will be fun to watch Orly haz a mad at the FEC...