Are there Bachmann corruption charges coming in Iowa?

Election bid or auction bid in Iowa?

cross-posted from MNPP:

According to the HuffPo, Kent Sorenson received significant quantities of moola, pay-offs, tangible persuasion, which are possibly bribes, felony crimes, not just lapses in ethics. For some reason, Kent Sorenson, who resigned earlier this week, took, but did not cash, a check for $25k. But he did take the 5th amendment under questioning.

Per the Asheville Citizen Times:

Stepping down from office likely insulates him from any punishment meted out by the Iowa Senate, but Iowa attorney general’s office spokesman Geoff Greenwood said Sorenson still could be charged with a crime and prosecuted.

“If there’s an allegation of public corruption, the individual resigning would not impact whether a crime has occurred,” Greenwood said. “If it’s alleged that someone in office committed a crime while in office, resigning wouldn’t necessarily negate the alleged crime.”

The media has so far abstained from speculating on what that means for the other side of that corruption, Bachmann and Paul. This would be of particular interest to donors to the Bachmann PAC, as she represented the PAC existed to raise money for OTHER candidates, not as a grab bag for herself. But then as the HuffPo continued, it looks like ALL the Republican candidates were doing the same thing:

Bachmann consultant Guy Short told campaign aides in 2011 Sorenson was "the real deal" and should be hired quickly because, "People are getting bought off," emails show.

What people? Does this mean ALL the GOP contenders were perhaps violating election law? Wait -- aren't they the perennial defenders of election purity? The word "lipservice" continues to spring to mind, as does "hypocrisy".

Then there is the aspect of an attempted coverup. Sorenson has lied about being money for his support, as evidenced by his assertion in news media when the reality was closer to a bidding war - from the Huff Po:

Weinhardt's 566-page report also suggests Sorenson defected from the Minnesota congresswoman's campaign days before the January 2012 caucuses after receiving promises of compensation from Paul's campaign, raising questions about whether criminal or campaign finance laws were violated.

Sorenson told Fox News before the caucuses that Paul's campaign "never offered a nickel" for his switch, denying Bachmann's claim of a payoff.

"With the Kesari check in hand, Senator Sorenson's statements on national television were simply false," wrote Weinhardt, who was appointed to investigate a Senate ethics complaint filed against Sorenson by a former Bachmann aide.

Kesari's wife, Jolanda, who operates Designer Goldsmiths in Leesburg, Va., said Thursday only her husband could answer questions about the check. He didn't return a message.

Weinhardt's report found Sorenson's business received $73,000 in wire transfers in the following months from ICT, Inc., of Hyattsville, Md. The payments suggest that Sorenson received $25,000 upfront and then $8,000 per month for six months — similar to the compensation Sorenson told colleagues the Paul campaign had offered, the report said.

None of this should surprise any of us, but we can only hope that the other candidates will be investigated as well, and that both Sorenson and Mr. and Mrs. Bachmann are ALL charged with felonies. And we should use this as one more example of WHY we should be getting big money out of elections, where candidates try to buy an office, every step of the way. That should include much more transparency and regulation of the amounts of money donated to PACs.