The Republican Governors Association said it paid the Anchorage office of Holmes Weddle & Barcott $1,405 for legal services on July 27, according to a disclosure form filed with the IRS Monday.

Here is an image of the bill from page 467 of the 609-page IRS filing.

The Dunleavy support group called A Stronger Alaska” said it paid Holmes Weddle & Barcott $1,404.50 for legal services on July 27, according to the disclosure form filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission Oct. 10.

Here is an image from the sworn document sent to the APOC.

One of these filings is correct. One isn’t. This is not about the 50 cent difference.

A Stronger Alaska claimed that it paid the law firm with check number 80016.

That is an extremely high check number for a new group that hasn’t had the need to write more than a few checks, which makes it likely that the venerable Republican Governors Association actually paid the bill and rounded it off to $1,405.

If A Stronger Alaska is not paying this and other bills and the RGA is really writing the checks, all of the documents filed by the Dunleavy support group with the Alaska Public Offices Commission since February 25, 2021 are as legit as Herschel Walker’s police badge.

Holmes Weddle & Barcott lawyers Stacey Stone and Richard Moses can do their part to enlighten Alaskans by looking at the check to see which name is on it. If the check is from the Republican Governors Association the lawyers have their work cut out for them.

Publication of the $1,405.50 check would allow us to know before the election if the Dunleavy support group “A Stronger Alaska” is the fake front organization that it appears to be.

Moses signed this document filed with the APOC Sept. 23 that claims, A Stronger Alaska “has not violated any Alaska law” and that a campaign complaint should be dismissed.

Stone signed this APOC document the same day saying “RGA has followed the letter of Alaska law at all times relevant to this matter.”

As more information becomes known, the refusal of the Republican Governors Association and A Stronger Alaska to cooperate with an APOC investigation makes it seem as if they have something to hide.

The Republican Governors Association told the APOC that it created A Stronger Alaska and transferred $3 million to the new group on Feb. 25, 2021.

But the RGA did not report any such transfer in its reports with the IRS.

The IRS reports are more dependable than anything sent to the APOC, an understaffed and notoriously weak agency that is a long ways from the Washington, D.C. offices of the RGA.

A Stronger Alaska claims to have been given $3 million in cash, more than enough to pay lawyers and try to get Dunleavy reelected.

The Feb. 25, 2021 date was significant because three days later a new Alaska law required that the names of donors to such groups be disclosed.

If the RGA did not transfer $3 million to a legally separate entity on Feb. 25, 2021, as appears likely, the RGA and the Dunleavy support group are not in compliance with state law and all sorts of campaign finance regulations. This could well lead to the biggest fines in APOC history.

“It is difficult to understand how the evidence in this case could be stronger,” the Alaska Public Interest Group and the 907 Initiative tell the APOC is a new complaint about the Dunleavy support group. “Nearly all of the allegations in this complaint are based upon examination of the RGA’s own IRS filings.”

Here is the updated complaint, supplemented with details from the IRS filing this week, more evidence that the Dunleavy support group is well into Herschel Walker badge territory.

The Alaska Public Offices Commission needs to act now.

The commission has called a meeting on the complaint Thursday at 1:30 p.m. If the commission grants “expedited” review, which it should do, it will hold a hearing on the matter that afternoon.

Attorneys Stone and Moses should bring a copy of the check with them to make this easier on everyone.

The Webex Meeting Link for the 1:30 p.m. session: https://stateofalaska.webex.com/stateofalaska/j.php?MTID=m3a56b0490d0c57bbe032ee16ac7b3f3a

Meeting Number: 2452 923 6966 

Password: Bup2gZ3Avy7

To join by phone, call 1-650-479-3207

The access code is 2452 923 6966  and the password is 28724932.