Tennessee’s Campaign Finance Watchdog is disputing a Political Action Committee’s proposal to settle for $2,500 related to an illegal attack ad targeting Republican House candidates for the upcoming 2024 elections.
During a board meeting last week, Tom Lawless, the chairman of the election finance registration, expressed skepticism about the proposed settlement, remarking that it seemed insufficient. He emphasized that political players are usually well-versed in the state’s campaign regulations but often attempt to circumvent them, only to offer a minimal fine later on.
The Civic Engagement Forum and its officer, Thomas Dotwiler, acknowledged in correspondence to the Election Finance Register that they were required to set up the political campaign committee last summer and should have registered and reported their spending to the state.
To address this matter and prevent additional costs, Attorney Edward Graeme from Kansas City suggested the $2,500 settlement. However, at a July meeting, the board decided against accepting this offer and preferred to investigate further claims made by Republican Rep. Michele Lenaud. She accused Dotwiler, a political operative linked to several Tennessee politicians, of orchestrating an illegal attack ad against her.
Reneau filed a complaint last year after narrowly defeating veteran Republican legislator Patsy Hazlewood in the August primary. The complaint alleged that a group named the Citizen Engagement Forum, identified as aligned with Wisconsin-based Dotwiler, ran a website aimed at undermining Lenaud and sent her critical text messages without registering their political action committee or paying the required disclosure fees. The Tennessee Journal was the first to cover this story.
“They admit they should submit, but this is a serious issue,” Lawless remarked this week.
The Civic Engagement Forum previously posted on Facebook claiming that Lenaud was “too dangerous for Tennessee,” mocking her by suggesting she believed in wearing a tin foil hat to protect against radiation and COVID-19. The group has also opposed raw milk and vaccination initiatives.
Lenaud reportedly spent three days last week addressing the Registration Commission, asserting that the information published about her was false. She indicated that her campaign expenditures, which included Facebook ads, texts, and around 3,500 mailers, totaled nearly $7,000. Any group spending beyond $1,000 is required to register with the state.
Dotwiler also has connections to Rep. Andy Ogres of Calleoka and U.S. Rep. Diana Hirschberger from East Tennessee, and was previously the subject of a conspiracy allegation filed by Sen. Ken Yagger against Sen. Bobby Hirschberger. Dotwiler oversaw East Tennessee Conservatives, a dark money organization that reportedly spent over $500,000 against Lundburg and served as treasurer for Rep. Hirschberger.
This spring, the registry dismissed the issue, despite Lawless and others wanting to investigate Dotwiler’s involvement in the Hirschberger-Lundburg campaign last fall.
Lenaud’s complaint seems to be taking a similar path, with the registry passing the case to the Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General’s Office subsequently interviewed Dotwiler, who denied having personal knowledge about the Civic Engagement Forum, Lenaud’s candidacy, or the action committee.
He also claimed ignorance regarding any printed materials distributed by the Civic Engagement Forum against Lenaud, despite sending some documents in response to information requests. Interestingly, he said he had not seen these documents and was unsure why they came from the Civic Engagement Forum, suggesting there might have been some collaboration on the material opposing Lenaud’s candidacy.
When pressed for contact details of the Civic Engagement Forum’s board members, Dotwiler indicated that the organization lacked a physical location.
The Attorney General’s office found connections between the Civic Engagement Forum and Citizen Engagement, as they utilized similar content and graphics, referencing the same Weston Prices article. Investigators noted that Dotwiler had nearly identical campaign materials to those released by the Civic Engagement Forum, even though he denied any affiliations or knowledge regarding the campaigns against Lenaud.
According to the Tennessee Journal, the Registry Commission may lack engagement if former East Tennessee member Tom Morton overlooked critical details on documents with a similar Wisconsin address linked to Lenaud’s allegations against Dotwiler and the East Tennessee PAC.
