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October 13, 2010

Bailey questioned in anti-Cutler website probe

By The Mainebiz News Staff

The state's ethics commission is questioning Dennis Bailey, president of Portland-based public relations firm Savvy Inc. and a consultant for Independent gubernatorial candidate Shawn Moody, in connection with an anonymous website targeting rival Independent candidate Eliot Cutler.

Cutler last month asked the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to launch an investigation into the website, which accuses him of being "a phony and a fraud," and could be in violation of state campaign finance laws, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. The network filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain documents related to the investigation and found that the commission questioned Bailey last month on the website's origins and could subpoena him for more information. According to a letter from the commission's Executive Director Jonathan Wayne, Bailey implied he knew the website's creators, a claim Bailey refuted to MPBN.

Waterville lawyer and Republican activist Dan Billings has spoken on behalf of the website's creators, arguing they have not surpassed the $100 expense threshold that would require them to file reports under the state's expressed advocacy law. He would not reveal the identity of his clients.

Wayne told MPBN that the commission's investigators have sent Billings about 20 questions and are awaiting answers before deciding whether to subpoena Bailey.

Go to the article from MPBN >>

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