OPINION

Hall: Many issues from Senate primary left unresolved

Sam R. Hall
The Clarion-Ledger

When rumors started that Hollywood was thinking about remaking The NeverEnding Story, most people of my generation were incredulous that they would attempt to redo such a childhood favorite.

Of course, now we fear a new version won't be about a magical fairytale where a young boy goes on an adventure filled with unbelievable events but instead about the Republican primary for U.S. Senate — itself an adventure filled with unbelievable events.

But as we wait for our own version of The NeverEnding Story to progress to the next chapter — i.e. will Chris McDaniel ever file a challenge to the election or instead just continue his perpetual post-campaign campaign — there's actually quite a few storylines that have yet to be wrapped up.

Who owned the certificate of deposit?

We may never know the identity of the person whose $250,000 certificate of deposit secured the loan for Mississippi Conservatives PAC, which supported incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. However, there is a complaint before the Federal Elections Commission, and we'll watch that to see if it is ever resolved. At best, Mississippi Conservatives PAC legally skirted campaign finance laws.

Will Saleem Baird ever set the record straight?

Cochran campaign staffer Saleem Baird, who took a leave of absence from U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker's office to work on the campaign, is at the heart of the alleged vote-buying scheme that was raised in an interview by Stevie Fielder of Meridian. In an interview for which he was reportedly paid $5,000, Fielder told a blogger that Baird asked him to pay people $15 each to vote for Cochran. However, Fielder recanted most of his story to The Clarion-Ledger in an interview for which he was not paid. The only part he didn't recant were claims that Baird raised the idea of paying for votes. Neither Cochran's campaign nor Wicker's staff has made Baird available for comment. Seems like he should deny the accusations if they are in fact false.

Did McDaniel spend general election funds?

McDaniel has his share of amended reports to file as well. The Federal Elections Commission has already asked him to include required donor information — including employment and addresses — which the campaign failed to provide for hundreds of donors. But more pressing is the question of whether or not McDaniel spent funds earmarked for the general election in violation of FEC law. If so, McDaniel's campaign faces a stiff fine, even if they have now raised enough money to repay those funds. By my count, it looks like McDaniel did violate this law.

Who paid for those radio ads?

Pro-Cochran radio ads aimed at black voters that McDaniel claims were racist were allegedly paid for by All Citizens for Mississippi PAC. The PAC and it's leader, Bishop Ronnie Crudup of Jackson, have come under fire for assertions he has made that are not supported by their FEC filings. One of those filings is that he paid for those ads. However, the latest FEC report, which covers the time period during which the ads were paid, do not list the payments. The group that placed the ads on behalf of the PAC also buy media for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which also supported Cochran. Some believe the NRSC violated campaign finance laws by paying for the ads attributed to All Citizens of Mississippi PAC.

Did McDaniel pay Liberty Action Center for phone calls?

Right after the runoff, a group by the name of Liberty Action Center was calling voters asking them if they would support a legal challenge of the results. Callers were identifying themselves as being with the McDaniel campaign. Thomas Alvord, president of LAC, later confirmed they had not been hired by the campaign to make the calls and said that the callers should not have been using McDaniel's name. Campaign spokesman Noel Fritsch also said they had nothing to do with the calls and went so far as to say he had never heard of LAC. Then comes the campaign's latest FEC report, which shows more than $11,500 paid to LAC. It will be interesting to see what the campaign reports for the next quarter in relation to LAC disbursements.

Will Kelly, Sager and Mary be indicted?

The most sordid part of this election centers around blogger Clayton Kelly taking photographs of a bedridden Rose Cochran in her nursing home room and posting it in a YouTube video. Kelly was arrested and charged with multiple felonies. Authorities also arrested and charged Mark Mayfield, Richard Sager and John Mary with felony conspiracy charges. The greatest tragedy happened when Mayfield committed suicide. It remains to be seen as to whether a grand jury will indict Kelly, Sager and Mary. Like many others, I think felony indictments unlikely, though misdemeanor charges might stick.

When will the story end?

The NeverEnding Story turned 30 last Sunday, the same day McDaniel was winding down his "Truth and Justice Tour." Unfortunately for McDaniel, he isn't Bastian, there is no Childlike Empress and he can't jump on Falkor and go flying after Cochran or the Barbours to scare them into submission. This isn't a fairytale, and the courts require more than a grain of sand if he wants to find his Fantasia.

Contact Sam R. Hall at srhall@jackson.gannett.com, or follow @samrhall on Twitter. Read his blog, Daily Ledes, at clarionledger.com/blog/dailyledes.