It's getting really hard to believe Mormon leaders. They're not really heeding that commandment about lying. After downplaying their role in Prop. 8, the latest campaign filings show the church did spend a considerable amount of its own money.
Teddy Partridge at Firedoglake has the details, which came out over the weekend:
In a Friday filing with California's Fair Political Practices Commission, the Mormon Church listed almost $190,000 in previously unreported expenses in support of last year's successful campaign to eliminate marriage equality in California.The Mormon Church deserves the scrutiny its been getting. The leaders have not been honest. Teddy poses the important question: what else is the Mormon Church hiding? We have to find out.The report, filed with the secretary of state's office, listed a variety of California travel expenses for high-ranking members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and included $20,575 for use of facilities and equipment at the church's Salt Lake City headquarters and a $96,849 charge for "compensated staff time" for church employees who worked on matters pertaining to Prop. 8.It seems as if the complaint filed with the FPPC by Californians Against Hate was not as specious as the Mormons initially charged:Up until Friday, the Mormon church had denied any direct financial support for the campaign beyond a reported $2,078 spent for bringing church Elder L. Whitney Clayton to California.In other words, the Mormon Church had no intention of modifying their expense reporting until pressed by Californians Against Hate and the subsequent -- and ongoing -- FPPC investigation.
Church officials complained that Karger's complaint was full of errors and that the church had "fully complied" with California law.
