Is Vern Buchanan Hiding Something
Republican Voters Need To Know -- We Can't Afford Another Safe Seat Becoming a Toss Up.
By Erick Posted in 2006 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
A few weeks ago RedState brought you the video of Tramm Hudson, running as a Republican to replace Katherine Harris in her Congressional District, saying he knew from experience that black men have difficulty swimming. Hudson promptly apologized and had a number of black leaders come out in his defense.
RedState received some criticism from the right on this matter, but we felt justified running the story because a number of people, including reporters, told us they knew about the video and were waiting until after the primary to talk about it -- Hudson was the presumed front runner. Well, there's another candidate in that district who is running as a Republican and arguably has bigger problems than Hudson.
It seems Vern Buchanan, the current front runner, might be trying to hide from the IRS. Right now, a judge has kept sealed a case down in Florida involving Buchanan for no reason other than that Buchanan requested it. Mind you, that's not a validly legal reason and it is probably only a matter of time before the case is unsealed. You can bet it happens before the November election.
Read on . . .
The sealed court file involves a lawsuit Buchanan filed against the Ritz-Carlton developers, claiming they unfairly cut him out of a deal to finance the luxury tower. In one case document obtained before the case was sealed, the Ritz's developer asserted that Buchanan defrauded them and lied about his finances.
Whatever may be in the sealed file, there were indications Friday that Buchanan came out the winner in his lawsuit.
Buchanan confirmed Friday that the developers agreed to pay him $1.35 million as part of their settlement agreement. The Herald-Tribune was able to determine the amount because Buchanan accepted payment through a convoluted real estate transaction for a condo at the Ritz-Carlton.
The catch here appears to be the taxation of the $1.35 million. In the five years I practiced tax law, it seems to me the money should have been taxed immediately as ordinary income, but Buchanan tried to structure it as a capital gains tax -- with a savings of around $257,000.00. But, because the deal was agreed to with a set buyback price in 2001, this is more of a barter than anything else and tax law would require payment as if it occurred in 2001
My guess is that if the case were unsealed, the IRS would have all the facts and could impose taxes on Buchanan. Buchanan already has a history with the IRS to the tune of $1.26 million.
Now, there may be nothing here. Buchanan is a good Republican and a solid candidate. But, we know the media was waiting to spring something on Hudson after the primary. We can be reasonably sure the same thing would happen to Buchanan. Vern Buchanan should let us all see what's in the lawsuit before the primary and let the GOP primary voters decide if they want to vote for him.
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Is Vern Buchanan Hiding Something 3 Comments (0 topical, 3 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Living in this district and having watched this drama unfold over the course of many months, I've followed the Vern Buchanan/Tramm Hudson soap opera intensely, and this latest episode truly has me shaking my head - one over the continued defiance of Vern Buchanan to just step forward and tell the truth, and now over the quality of the court system.
It appears Vern fails to understand that the race for Congress doesn't end at the primary. If by some chance Buchanan wins the primary, he will be completely unelectable by the time the Sarasota Herald Tribune and the Democrats get done with him. While he has successfully warded off many of the full inquiries into his past, in the eight weeks between the primary and the election, voters can be assured the skeletons will come tumbling out of the closet in force.
The thing that troubles me most about this most recent court decision is Judge Nancy Donnellan. A certified "loose cannon", Donnellan is reportedly retiring, giving her pretty much nothing to lose by being Buchanan's puppet. Reportedly, Buchanans own attorneys pleaded in court to not unseal the file because the competing candidates would use the contents against Vern. Bad choice of words on their part, but what does the file contain that is so dangerous? I am surprised more Senior judges, like Judge Bennett haven't intervened in this issue and ordered the file unsealed, as Donnellan is clearly coasting through this issue.
The Herald Tribune, I suspect at the urging of the New York Times, has also slow-played this issue as well as many others as it relates to Buchanan, fully realizing he is unelectable in the general election. For example:
We have heard ad mauseum from Hudson regarding the American Speedy Printing banckruptcy. The fact that American Speedy printing went into bankruptcy proves nothing other than Vern might not be the savvy businessman he makes himself out to be. The REAL ISSUE however, is the fact that Buchanan claimed he sold the company in 1989, three years prior. He has stated this in printed interviews. Yet the bankruptcy documents filed in 1992 list Vern Buchanan as the shareholder. Why no one has driven this point home is a mystery to me. The mistruths he has thrown around as it relates to American Speedy are the real issue, not the bankruptcy. Add to that the fact that he reportedly made off with $15 million, and left his franchisees twisting in the wind, and you don't have the ideal candidate to represent this district in Congress.
Further, if anyone thinks these issues will not be played out to the hilt after the primary, they are kidding themselves. By the time the general election rolls around, Vern Buchanan will have been gutted like a fish in the local, regionnal and national media. These points will have been beaten to death and the new information contained in the court file cannot possible continue to be hidden for teh next eight weeks. We can count on stories about:
Vern Buchanans American Speedy "I sold the company, I didn't sell the company, I think I sold it, in my mind I thought I sold it but maybe I didn't sell it" flip flopping soap opera.
Vern Buchanan's IRS problems. This has sort of waffled around coming and going, but where there is smoke, there is fire, and more will surface on his questionable dealings with the IRS, including this most recent question regarding "ordinary income" versus "capital gains" in the Ritz Carlton deal.
Vern's plegde to not self fund his campaign. From the outset, Vern stated he would not put his own money into the campaign to eliminate any perception that he was trying to buy the seat in Congress. Now Vern has poured $2.1 million of his own money into the campaign. It appears once these questionable issues started to surface, his constituents were less inclined to open their wallets to Vern.
To say Vern Buchanan has a questionable relationship with the truth is an understatement. Folks in this district who have followed this story closely fully understand he is not electable against any democrat, simply because he will not be able to continue to tip toe through the raindrops over the complete facts of his past for another eight weeks. A vote for Vern Buchanan in this primary appears top be a vote for Christine Jennings or Jan Schnieder (Heaven help us all).
Voters in district 13 would be well served to realize this fact and elect a candidate who can handily beat the combined force of the Democratic opponent, the DNC and the liberal media, all of whom will be lined up to try and wrest the seat formerly occupied by Katherine Harris from Republican grasp.
(FL-13) Jennings (D) said she favors doing-away with jury trials in favor of a 3-JUDGE TRIBUNAL. She's the blonde that doesn't stand-up to speak at this recent public candidate forum. Christine Jennings opposes Vern Buchanan for U.S. Congress. Listen carefully.
About Hudson, it was good to get that out, and over with, but Tramm Hudson's "gaffe" was just proof that nobody has any real dirt on him. May a comment about the lack of swimming skills among blacks be the worst gaffe any of us make. Vern Buchanan's PR problem seems more ominous.