Ethics panel to probe marriage group’s Iowa campaign activities

A state panel agreed Thursday to investigate allegations that the National Organization for Marriage violated Iowa law by not disclosing donors who contributed to campaigns opposing the retention of Iowa Supreme Court justices involved in a controversial 2009 gay marriage decision.

The unanimous decision by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board triggers a probe that could result in civil disciplinary action that could range up to a public reprimand or fines of up to $2,000 per violation if the panel decides that NOM failed to follow state campaign laws.

“The ethics commission in Iowa took a stand today for truth and transparency from the National Organization for Marriage,” said Fred Karger, who filed the complaint against the Washington-based group that opposes same-sex marriage with the Iowa board.

“The commission sent them a loud and clear message today that if they are going to participate in Iowa elections, they need to obey the Iowa election law,” added Karger 63, a former political consultant and gay rights advocate who unsuccessfully sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

In documents filed with the board, NOM representative Joseph Vanderhulst of the Indiana-based ACT Right Legal Foundation called Karger's allegations “baseless” and “erroneous,” contended the National Organization for Marriage has not violated the campaign finance laws of Iowa or any other states and correctly reported its activities related to Iowa judicial retention elections in 2010 and 2012.

“This complaint should be dismissed as legally insufficient under (the Iowa Code) and the board should take no action against NOM,” Vanderhulst wrote.

However, Megan Tooker, the board's executive director, told the six-member panel that NOM claims that the donors' names could be kept secret and other contentions about Iowa's campaign disclosure laws were “absolutely false” before the board voted 6-0 to authorize an investigation.

“To be clear, we haven't found that NOM did anything wrong. All we did today is find that it warranted further investigation, so the board will be able to use its subpoena power and get enough information to decide whether or not donors should have been disclosed,” Tooker said.

In his complaint, Karger contended NOM spent $635,000 in 2010 and nearly $100,000 in 2012 to try to defeat four of the justices who were part of a unanimous 2009 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage to be legal in Iowa. Voters chose not to retain three justices in 2010 but Justice David Wiggins survived an effort to oust him in the 2012 election.

“They're very duplicitous. They're bullies. They'll say and do anything to raise money,” Karger told reporters after the board vote. “We caught them. I'm so grateful for the ethics commission for moving forward with this investigation because we'll find out where this money is coming from.”

Karger said Thursday's action was significant because he expected NOM likely would be an active participant in future Iowa elections, including a possible effort to oust other Supreme Court justices who were part of the majority in the same-sex ruling when they come up for retention in 2016.