Dot-com downturn hounds Washington senator

From...

By Aaron Pressman

(IDG) -- Sen. Maria Cantwell's campaign finance troubles escalated Tuesday as a conservative legal foundation filed a complaint charging that the freshman Democrat from Washington violated federal election laws.

Cantwell borrowed more than $3 million in her successful $10 million effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Slade Gorton. Since the election, the loan -- backed by stock in Cantwell's former employer RealNetworks -- has become an acute source of embarrassment.

IDG.net INFOCENTER IDG.net's main page Free daily newsletters Instant help from the Dummies Network Computerworld Communities Related IDG.net Stories RealNetworks profit falls but meets expectations Microsoft, other technology firms aim to render MP3 obsolete RealNetworks player to go on Intel's Dot.Station Features Cool gifts for cool nerds! Your complete guide to broadband DSL bloodbath continues Visit an IDG site Choose a site: IDG.net CIO Computerworld Darwin Dummies.com GamePro.com The Industry Standard ITWorld.com InfoWorld.com JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Online Network World Fusion PC World Publish.com SunWorld IDG.net search

On Tuesday, the National Legal and Policy Center charged in a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that Cantwell committed three violations of federal law related to the stock-backed loan and a separate line of credit backed by her home.

The group said the line of credit was backed by insufficient collateral, that the interest rates on the loan and line of credit were below market rates and that the terms of the transaction were not disclosed during the campaign.

"They're cut-and-dried violations of the law," said Ken Boehm, chairman of the center, which made national headlines suing then-President Clinton's health care task force for holding private meetings run by Hillary Clinton and Ira Magaziner.

Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Cantwell, dismissed the complaint as a political stunt. "Clearly, this is a politically motivated attack filed by a right wing fringe group that, to my knowledge, has never had a complaint to the FEC acted upon," Crider said. "We expect this matter to be promptly dismissed by the FEC."

The Federal Election Commission's general counsel generally decides within a few weeks whether a complaint merits serious review. If the commission decides to investigate, the matter could take months or even years to be resolved. Violations are typically resolved with a monetary fine.

Cantwell's initial loan problem cropped up last month when the $3.2 million borrowing came due. Cantwell apparently negotiated an extension because the RealNetworks stock that she had put up as collateral had plunged in value.

About half of the loan has been paid back so far, Crider said.

Report: Dot-com fallout may be slowing
April 6, 2001
Scholars begin autopsy of dot-com era
March 19, 2001
Silicon Valley auctions show demise of dot-coms
February 23, 2001
Dot-com economy leaves trail of layoffs
February 5, 2001
Q&A: Analysts discuss the dot-com layoffs
January 31, 2001
Layoffs reignite call for dot-com unions
January 23, 2001
Don't blame the banner ad for shrinking dotcoms
January 12, 2001

RealNetworks profit falls but meets expectations
(InfoWorld.com)
Microsoft, other technology firms aim to render MP3 obsolete
(The Industry Standard)
RealNetworks player to go on Intel's Dot.Station
(IDG.net)
RealNetworks widens lead over Win Media Player
(IDG.net)
Update: RealNetworks, EMI, AOL, BMG in online music deal
(IDG.net)
Major labels may license music to RealNetworks
(The Industry Standard)
RealNetworks wants to play games
(PCWorld.com)
RealNetworks gives Microsoft an iQ test
(The Industry Standard)

Real Networks

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.