Mac Warner Suspected of Filing False Reports with Questionable Actions on 2016 Campaign Finance Report

Tennant provides evidence to U.S. Attorney’s Office 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2020

Charleston, W.Va. – Mac Warner is suspected of filing false Campaign Finance Reports because he closed his 2016 Campaign Finance Committee without having the money to pay off his bills and zero out the account, which is a violation of state law.

The detailed evidence is outlined in this release and is verified through Warner’s own filings found on the Secretary of State website: Warner’s 2016 Campaign Finance Reports.  

While Warner may claim it was a simple human error in the reporting, the fact remains his bank account would not have had enough money to pay off his debt. The numbers don’t add up. 

“I’m calling on Warner to be transparent and release his bank statements and cancelled checks to the public,” Tennant said. “If he does this, we will see whether his campaign finance reports match his bank statements.”

For example, in his Post General Amended Report filed on March 31, 2017 at 12:01 p.m., Warner reported owing his brother Kris Warner’s firm — Barbour Randolph Consulting LLC — $10,000. 

Warner’s Annual Report filed on the same day, March 31, 2017 at 12:15 p.m., shows two payments totaling $5,000 to his brother’s firm. 

With these two payments, Warner submits his 2017 Annual Report claiming an unpaid balance owed to Barbour Randolph Consulting LLC of $5,000.

View the entire report here: A17 – Original. 

On December 30, 2017 at 3:47 p.m., Warner submits a 2017 Amended Annual Report. It is important to note that state law says, “If an amended report is submitted, it must include the same information as the previously submitted report with the errors corrected.” (SOS Running for Office Guide). 

The two payments above to Barbour Randolph Consulting LLC — Jan. 13 and Jan 31 – that appeared on the original 2017 Annual Report have been deleted in the Amended Report. In their place, Warner adds two payments using different dates than the original 2017 annual report:

This amended report is now considered the official 2017 annual report and can be found here: A17 – Amended. 

It shows Barbour Randolph Consulting was only paid $5,000 of the $10,000 it was owed. The amended report makes it appear the unpaid bill to Barbour Randolph Consulting was paid off because Warner does not include it now in the unpaid bills section. In fact, the bill was never paid off.

But there’s more…

Warner counted a refund check from Sinclair Broadcasting and then turned around and also counted it as a campaign contribution from the CEO of Sinclair Broadcasting, David Smith:

Because of the double counting and sloppy accounting throughout his reports, there is no way Warner was able to balance his account, pay his debts and reach a zero balance to close his account. State law requires candidates to have a zero balance to make a final report. 

Because these questions involve electronic filings of reports, Tennant has asked the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia to investigate Warner’s campaign finance reports. 

It’s not enough for Warner to show his final close out report with a zero balance. The only way to prove the report is accurate is to release bank statements and canceled checks. State law requires campaigns to keep financial information for five years. (W. Va. Code 3-8-5d).

“Warner can simply clear up these convoluted reports by releasing to the public his bank statements and canceled checks,” Tennant said. “If I’m wrong with my calculations, I’m willing to issue a public apology, but West Virginians deserve to know.” 

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