Top RNC Official’s Daughter’s Firm Paid Thousands In Party Funds
A consulting firm headed by the daughter of the co-chair of the Republican National Committee has received $13,000 in party money for speechwriting over the last six months, records show — which could spark more criticism of the RNC’s spending practices.
Amy Larimer, the daughter of RNC co-chair Jan Larimer, co-runs a Wyoming-based firm called Big Creek Communications, which specializes in political consulting, media relations and other services. Since September of 2009, the RNC has paid the firm three payments of $3,000, and two of $2,000, all for “speechwriting,” FEC records show.
With the RNC already taking criticism for wasteful spending and a payment to a bondage-themed club, RNC critics may seize on these fees to further criticize the committee for failing to manage appearances.
“It certainly doesn’t look good,” Mark DeMoss, chief executive of an Atlanta-based PR company and a major GOP donor, told me. “It contributes to a sense that spending is out of control. It sounds like nepotism — which it is. How many more data points are there going to be?”
The RNC declined comment. But an RNC source disputes that there’s anything untoward. The source says the person doing the speechwriting for the RNC is not Amy Larimer, but her partner, Joe Milczewski, who co-runs the firm with her. The source says Milczewski, who works in Wyoming politics, has a long-standing professional relationship with RNC co-chair Larimer.
In the wake of the dust-up over the bondage-themed club, Jan Larimer recently co-authored a memo to RNC members and big donors reassuring them that the party remains committed to the “efficient use of RNC funds to ensure as many victories in 2010 as possible.”
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