Frank Vennes

Last fall, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s campaign made a $9,200 charitable contribution to the faith-based drug treatment program Minnesota Teen Challenge in an effort to wash its hands of tainted contributions from Frank Vennes, Jr., a convicted money launderer and associate of alleged Ponzi scheme operator Tom Petters. But, the Minnesota Independent has recently learned, the donation was given back. Teen Challenge returned the check on Oct. 3, but Bachmann’s campaign waited nearly three months to disclose the fact to the Federal Elections Commission.

The motivated DumpBachmann folks point out that Tom Petters’ business associate Frank Vennes Jr. had extra motivation in December 2007 to get help from U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in obtaining a presidential pardon for past money-laundering and other convictions. That was the same month that that Petters’ alleged massive Ponzi scheme became apparent to Vennes, according to an affidavit [...]

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman received $2,300 from the family of Isaac Robert Toussie. Toussie, who is convicted of fraud, had his Dec. 23 presidential pardon revoked the next day by President Bush. Bush’s reversal came after large donations from Toussie’s father and other family members to the Republican Party and Republican candidates, including Coleman, came to light.
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Michele Bachmann’s chief of staff now has acknowledged that on the same day Bachmann withdrew a presidential pardon letter on behalf of Frank Vennes Jr., she donated at least one of Vennes’ multiple campaign contributions to charity. Neither the amount of the donation nor the name of the charity were revealed.

Vennes and his family are among Bachmann’s biggest individual campaign contributors. He and his wife, Kimberly, have donated $27,400 to Bachmann’s campaign funds since 2005–$9,200 this year alone. Vennes’ brother and his wife, Greg and Stephanie Vennes, have donated an additional $8,400 to Bachmann since 2005. And Vennes’ personal lawyer, C. Craig Howse, has donated another $5,000 to Bachmann’s campaign coffers since 2007.

In 2007, Rep. Michele Bachmann sent President Bush a letter recommending he pardon a man who is a major contributor to her campaign even though he lives outside of her district. Last Thursday, Bachmann withdrew that letter, written on behalf of Frank Vennes, after FBI, IRS and U.S Postal Inspection officials seized numerous items from Vennes’ home in connection with the ongoing investigation of Vennes’ business associate Tom Petters.