LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee today revealed the names of 61 donors who gave to a private fund used to pay for his official portrait. The move came hours after his attorney addressed an ethics panel weighing a complaint that he violated state law by withholding the list.
Huckabee filed an amended report with the state ethics commission this afternoon after his attorney met with the state Ethics Commission behind closed doors for about 45 minutes. The complaint, filed by Jim Parsons of Bella Vista, accuses Huckabee of violating a 2001 law requiring him to report the names of those giving gifts to him on behalf of the state.
Donations from the fund include $5,000 from Entergy and $1,500 from Alltel. Numerous individuals associated with Huckabee -- including state finance chief Richard Weiss and former Huckabee chief of staff Brenda Turner were among the donors -- each giving $50.
Other donors include former state Senator Doyle Webb, who gave $100 and former Higher Education Linda Beene, who gave $25.
Altogether, contributors gave $31,815 to the fund for the portrait, according to the amended report.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Crass said he believed the former Republican presidential candidate followed the law by filing his financial interest statements. However, those statements only list the portrait's artist as the sole donor, not the names of any contributors to the private fund.
The Ethics Commission handles pending complaints in private. The panel ended its work today without releasing anything pertaining to Huckabee.
