http://www.thestandard.com/article/0%2C1902%2C23768%2C00.html Comments for "Dot-Com Downturn Hounds Senator" en http://www.thestandard.com/article/0%2C1902%2C23768%2C00.html <p><!--paging_filter--> <p> Sen. Maria Cantwell's campaign finance troubles escalated Tuesday as a conservative legal foundation filed a complaint charging that the freshman Democrat from Washington violated federal election laws. </p> <p>Cantwell borrowed more than $3 million in her successful $10 million effort to unseat incumbent Sen. Slade Gorton. Since the election, the loan - backed by stock in Cantwell's former employer RealNetworks - has become an acute source of embarrassment. </p> <p>On Tuesday, the National Legal and Policy Center charged in a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that Cantwell committed three violations of federal law related to the stock-backed loan and a separate line of credit backed by her home. </p> <p>The group said the line of credit was backed by insufficient collateral, that the interest rates on the loan and line of credit were below market rates and that the terms of the transaction were not disclosed during the campaign. </p> <p>"They're cut-and-dried violations of the law," said Ken Boehm, chairman of the center, which made national headlines suing then-President Clinton's health care task force for holding private meetings run by Hillary Clinton and Ira Magaziner. </p> <p>Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Cantwell, dismissed the complaint as a political stunt. "Clearly, this is a politically motivated attack filed by a right wing fringe group that, to my knowledge, has never had a complaint to the FEC acted upon," Crider said. "We expect this matter to be promptly dismissed by the FEC." </p> <p>The Federal Election Commission's general counsel generally decides within a few weeks whether a complaint merits serious review. If the commission decides to investigate, the matter could take months or even years to be resolved. Violations are typically resolved with a monetary fine. </p> <p>Cantwell's initial loan problem cropped up last month when the $3.2 million borrowing came due. Cantwell apparently negotiated an extension because the RealNetworks stock that she had put up as collateral had plunged in value. </p> <p>About half of the loan has been paid back so far, Crider said.<br /> <br></p> Policy And Politics Tue, 17 Apr 2001 15:00:00 -0700 Baldwin Louie 90543 at http://www.thestandard.com