LAFAYETTE, La. — Today, the Landry campaign announced that a TV ad, paid for by a dark money group, with ties to Stephen Waguespack, has been ordered off the airwaves. A Louisiana District Court Judge signed the emergency order( Temporary Restraining Order) which states that good cause has been shown that “a false statement about a candidate has been made”. The order continues further instructing the dark money group to “immediately remove from the airwaves” the false and misleading advertisement.
“This advertisement was a blatant lie against Jeff Landry, and it was rightfully taken down. The Waguespack campaign is using dark money to hide from voters. This was a desperate attempt by Waguespack to manipulate voters and it is shameful,” said Kate Kelly, Communications Director for the Landry Campaign.
Background on Dark Money Organization:
Louisiana Leadership Fund LLC is a Delaware LLC organized on 9/5/2023. Delaware corporate records do not provide any information on corporate officers. This organization has no paperwork before the IRS and they are not registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State.
The form that Louisiana Leadership Fund LLC submitted to TV stations with their false ad lists an address in Arlington, VA (PO Box 17237, Arlington, VA 22216). That same address is also shared by Safe Streets Safe Communities, Inc., a 501(C)(4) Dark Money group which gave $100,000 to Reboot LA, a pro-Waguespack Super PAC.
Their web address and domain that was provided on forms to the television stations is invalid. The Landry campaign has now purchased the domain.
The Metairie, La address that appears on screen in the malicious advertisement is that of a notary’s office in an obscure office building. There is no record of the dark money group having filed necessary paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service, the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, or the Louisiana Board of Ethics. The phone number listed on the television advertisement has gone unanswered, and does not appear on any public searches.
Fact vs. Ad
The Ad Falsely Stated: “As Attorney General, Jeff Landry has failed miserably. A lawsuit filed against Landry’s office stated that a wealthy donor found with child porn had a personal connection with Landry.”
The Facts: The defendant was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to jail. Finance records show that the defendant has never contributed to any of Jeff Landry’s campaigns and the attorney for the defendant’s family said they have no connections to Jeff Landry.
The Advocate, April 22, 2021— “The family’s attorney, meanwhile, has said they have no connections to Landry or to any other prosecutors in his office — familial, friendship, business or otherwise. While the Campo family has donated generously to other causes, campaign finance records do not show any contributions to Landry’s campaigns.”
The Advocate, April 22, 2021— “The Campo family, the parents, do not know Jeff Landry,” said attorney Bryan Fisher, who represents the Campo family. “They’ve never met him. They’ve never spoken to him on the phone. They do not know him from Adam.”
The Ad Falsely Stated: “The case was stalled and Landry waited a year before charging the donor.”
The Facts: Even with the complications of COVID-19, as Attorney General Jeff Landry took action – searching and locating the suspect out-of-state, then negotiating his peaceful arrest, and further monitoring him while in long-term medical treatment facility, before turning the case over to a District Attorney’s office for successful prosecution.
The Advocate, April 22, 2021—Fisher also said the delay in Campo’s arrest was because he was in treatment, and that he briefly left treatment to be arrested — which was negotiated with the Attorney General’s office — and returned to treatment afterward. John McLindon, the attorney representing Campo in the criminal case, also complimented the AG’s office and said they’d handled the case “very professionally.”
The Ad Falsely Stated: “Tell Jeff Landry his job should be protecting us.”
The Facts: The AG office has made over 800 arrests related to crimes against children — primarily for the production, possession, and/or distribution of sexual abuse images and videos of juveniles.
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