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Republicans Slam Democratic Groups for Keeping Donations From Domestic Violence Convict

Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi / AP
May 19, 2016

Two Democratic committees are under fire from Republicans for not returning past contributions from a donor who pled guilty to domestic violence.

The House Majority PAC run by Nancy Pelosi claimed Thursday that it had already spent the $180,000 contributed by Ibrahim al-Rashid, who was convicted of domestic assault in 2014.

"House Majority PAC received contributions from Ibrahim Al-Rashid in 2012, and those donations were spent in the 2012 election," the group’s executive director Alixandria Lapp told Politico. "Ibrahim Al-Rashid’s disgraceful crime was committed long after we received and spent those funds. His crime is inexcusable, and we won’t be accepting donations from this individual in the future."

Lapp’s statement deviates from other left-leaning groups and Democratic congressmen who have already given away or returned money from the donor.

The group’s counterpart, Senate Majority PAC run by Harry Reid, gave away the $100,000 that al-Rashid donated. Democratic Reps. Patrick Murphy, Josh Gottenheimer and Joe Garcia along with the Democratic Party of Florida have also returned cash from the convict.

Republicans are also hitting the DCCC for its refusal to return the $35,800 donated by al-Rashid. The committee declined to offer comment to Politico and did not return a request from the Free Beacon.

"DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján and House Majority PAC Executive Director Alixandria Lapp should follow the lead of Harry Reid, Patrick Murphy, Joe Garcia and the Florida Democratic Party by returning the campaign contributions their organizations have received from a donor who pleaded guilty for assaulting his wife," NRCC Spokesman Chris Pack said in an emailed statement.

Al-Rashid, the son of a Saudi multimillionaire, pled guilty in 2014 to a domestic assault charge against his estranged wife, who was formerly the finance director for Rep. Patrick Murphy (D, Fla.).

America Rising charged that Murphy, a longtime friend of al-Rashid’s, silently stood by while the donor funneled $10,000 into the Democratic Party of Florida to directly benefit the congressman’s reelection campaign despite his knowledge about the domestic assault charge.