Action News 5: FEC investigating $250K bank loan made to Fincher

By Joe Birch

...The Federal Election Commission is now examining (Stephen) Fincher's loan because he failed to disclose the interest rate and terms. Fincher's father sits on the Gates bank's board. Herron contends that, lacking the legally required terms and interest rate, the loan could be an illegal contribution from the bank: ?

"He won't tell you how it's secured or whether it's secured," Herron said in a recent speech.

Action News 5 asked Fincher: If everyone says it's completely legal and he has nothing to hide, why not show the terms of the loan to quiet critics???

"We have disclosed everything that we're required to disclose," Fincher said. "We've broken no laws. He called me a felon in TV ads, really, a low blow." ??But Herron contends that Fincher's omission of loan details constitutes failure to be truthful with 8th district voters: ??

"The first and most important issue for any public official is character," he said.??

Read the full story at WMCTV.com

 

 

The Commercial Appeal: Federal Election Commission investigates $250,000 Fincher loan

By Richard Locker & Bartholomew Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission has contacted the Gates Banking and Trust Company and its Memphis lawyer regarding a $250,000 loan the bank made to 8th Congressional District candidate Stephen Fincher, both said Wednesday.

The bank loan is not mentioned in Fincher's filings with the agency dealing with federal election law but Fincher's committee filed a statement with the FEC saying the candidate loaned it $250,000 from "personal funds."

Bank loans to campaign committees must be disclosed to the FEC, as well as their terms and interest rates. A lawyer for Fincher's opponent, Democrat Roy Herron, has filed two complaints about the loan with the FEC.

Gates Banking chairman Warren Nunn confirmed that the bank had been contacted but said he couldn't talk about it because "it gets so twisted around by the time it gets in the paper."

...Judith Ingram, a spokeswoman for the FEC, said she could not discuss "pending matters under review."

Read the full story at The Commercial Appeal

 

POLITICO: Fincher under fire for campaign loan ?

By Alex Isenstadt?

Tennessee Republican congressional candidate Stephen Fincher is under increasing scrutiny for a $250,000 bank loan he received for his campaign. ??

J. Robert Walker, an attorney for the Halls, Tenn.-based Gates Banking & Trust Co., which provided Fincher with the loan in July amid a competitive GOP primary, confirmed to POLITICO that the Federal Election Commission had contacted the bank about the transaction. ?

Fincher, who is running against Democratic state Sen. Roy Herron for the seat of retiring Democratic Rep. John Tanner, has been under attack from Democrats for not disclosing in FEC filings what collateral he posted in order to obtain the loan. Fincher's critics have also pointed out that his father serves on the board of Gates Banking and Trust Co.??

In September, Herron's campaign filed an FEC complaint against Fincher. Herron has also seized on the issue in TV ads, calling the Republican "unworthy of our trust." Herron spokesman Brandon Puttbrese called the development proof that Fincher had acted improperly in not disclosing the terms of the transaction. ??

"Stephen Fincher has repeatedly told Tennesseans the FEC approved the loan, but now the bank's lawyer and the FEC have proven that was a lie," said Puttbrese. "Stephen Fincher should step up, man up and quit hiding the loan documents." ??...

Read the full story at Politico