Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH)
Rep. Frank Guinta's trouble with the Federal Election Commission shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. The $355,000 the New Hampshire Republican loaned his own campaign in 2010 was
clearly shady from the beginning, since there was no way he had $355,000 to lend himself. But obvious shadiness didn't stop Guinta from being elected in the Republican wave years of 2010 and 2014, and, since New Hampshire is an early primary state, it
didn't stop some Republican presidential candidates from sucking up to him:
Among presidential contenders, Bush has been most generous by far. He donated $5,200 through his super PAC, Right to Rise, in February. [...] Bush also headlined a fundraiser for Guinta during a whirlwind tour of New Hampshire in March.
Bush also personally donated $1,000 to Guinta's campaign last October. Filings with the Federal Elections Commission show that Bush listed himself as a "self-employed" giver from Coral Gables, Fla. when he made the donation on Oct. 14.
Donald Trump and Rick Perry's PAC both gave Guinta money, while Carly Fiorina campaigned for him last fall.
Let's be clear: Even if these actual and potential candidates join other Republicans in backing away from Guinta—Bush has issued a statement saying he "does not believe Congressman Guinta's actions were appropriate"—they cozied up to him despite knowing that he'd engaged in extremely questionable campaign finance activities. This was not some murky, unknown story, it was just an issue the FEC hadn't finished investigating. Bush in particular aggressively courted Guinta either knowing about this issue or not having bothered to do the most basic due diligence on someone he was giving thousands of dollars. Backing away a few steps once Guinta is facing widespread calls to resign isn't exactly a strong stand for campaign ethics.