NEW: A mysterious super PAC is trashing Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. Spending patterns strongly suggest Democrats are behind the mischief in a state well known for its dirty tricks. by @dnewhauser for @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/pguH50C5vN8
Liberty SC is what's called a pop-up super PAC, meaning it can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money but won't have to disclose where that cash is coming from until well after the election is decided.
Several emails to Liberty SC went unanswered. But the clearest sign tying it to Democrats is who it paid to create & send the anti-Graham ads. Although pop-up PACs don't have to disclose donors in the final stretch before an election they do have to disclose when they spend $.
Among those organizations is the Mammen Group, a Washington, DC, direct mail firm that appears to have been paid more than $400,000 by Liberty SC, according to FEC records. The payments were made for "mailings" opposing Graham.
The group listed as the payee on Liberty SC's FEC files is "Public Service Associates," but the HQ listed is the same DC address that houses the Mammen Group. Public Service Associates is also a trade name the Mammen Group used between '03 & '05, according to DC business records.
The Mammen Group website boasts that, "We have a long track record of executing targeted communication programs that help Democrats win hotly contested races," citing work for high-profile candidates such as Bernie Sanders and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
The company's founder, Anil Mammen, said in an email to Insider that he doesn't want to run afoul of campaign finance laws that forbid super PACs from communicating with candidates.
"To prevent inadvertent collusion or sharing of information with federal candidates and their campaigns, we do not discuss our IE work until after the election is over," he said. Mammen declined to respond to follow-up questions.
Plenty more deets inside this story on the South Carolina Senate race. Subscribe to @businessinsider to read the whole thing. It's a buck for a month or here's a link for a 20% discount on the full year: businessinsider.com/subscription/p…
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