Why are politician book deals important? Ask Jim Wright.

Once again, we’re dealing with a significant ethical question about the Republican nominee for governor of North Carolina. It’s been quite a parade: the beach house, Balanced Nutrition, the daycare center. 

A probe of ‘s 2020 campaign finances is apparently still underway by state board of elections staff. 

Each episode has been marked by Robinson campaign spokesman Din Doonuffin squawking out — apparently — the only two words he knows (“Old News!”) and the candidate refusing to talk.

Many of these things could have been cleared up by the candidate and his campaign a year or more ago.  But, no.  They’ve decided to drag their feet and go silent.  And here we are,  three months before the  big vote, with these allegations and questions still swirling out there.

Now, we’re hearing about a – um — *lack of transparency* in accounting for sales of Mark Robinson’s autobiography:

It’s rare for North Carolina political figures to publish an autobiography while running for office, but Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has made his 2022 book a central part of his campaign for governor.

He’s done book signings for “We Are The Majority” during campaign fundraisers, and invitations to some of his fundraising events have included a free copy of the book as part of the ticket package. He’s also done direct mail fundraising campaigns where potential donors can receive the book if they contribute $75 or more.

“My friend, ‘We Are The Majority’ is a book that needs to be read by every Republican, Independent and conservative Democrat voter who’s considering me for Governor,” Robinson wrote in the fundraising letter. “Frankly, nothing would make me happier than to see 10,000 copies end up in the hands of grassroots leaders, fellow elected officials, moms, dads, seniors — folks just like you!”

So, how much is Robinson’s campaign spending to purchase copies of the book for donors?

The campaign hasn’t disclosed that figure anywhere in his campaign finance reports or ethics disclosure forms.

Asked about the omission, campaign spokesman Mike Lonergan said in an email that “these promotions were handled directly by the vendors. The campaign reported the expenses as required.”

Lonergan did not answer a follow-up question from WUNC about which vendor listed in the campaign finance reports was responsible for the book purchases.

Some of Robinson’s campaign spending appears to be lumped into categories labeled “consultant.” His campaign lists a total of $450,000 spent this cycle on “consultant — political” through the firm Conservative Connections, led by his campaign manager Conrad Pogorzelski.

And reports list $1.12 million spent on “consultant — fundraising” through the firm The Whillier Group, led by a former staffer for Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.

But Robinson’s campaign lists other purchases of gifts for donors and supporters separately. He’s spent nearly $45,000 on campaign “merch” through a Florida-based company called The MAGA Mall USA Corp., the report shows.

The company’s website offers red “Mark Robinson For Governor” hats alongside former President Donald Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats, as well as anti-Joe Biden apparel with messages like “Joe and the Ho Gotta Go.”

Robinson doesn’t list proceeds from the book on ethics disclosure forms filed with the State Ethics Commission. The form requires candidates and elected officials to list any source of income that exceeds $5,000. Robinson lists only his lieutenant governor salary and his wife’s nonprofit salary for 2023. […]

Asked about the ethics disclosure, Robinson’s campaign said, “revenue from book sales did not meet the threshold for disclosure.” […]

So, we’re expected to believe they didn’t make $5000 in sales of his book?   New hardback books from politicians typically retail between $15-$20 per unit.  To reach $5K in sales, they would need to sell 250 to 335 books.  That actually doesn’t sound too hard to do.  (I bet I could write a book and get 300 or so people to buy it.) 

So, why is all of this talk about books supposedly written by a political figure so important?  Old politicos like myself might remember the 1989 drama surrounding then-US House speaker Jim Wright (D-TX).

There was apparently some really sketchy, questionable accounting surrounding the sales of Wright’s book.  It began to appear that some labor unions and other liberal interest groups purchased unusually large amounts of Wright’s book at exorbitant prices.  A great way to by-pass campaign finance laws and get lotsa cash to your special elected friends.  

A federal grand jury got really interested in the Wright book deal.  It wasn’t long before we were treated to the first-ever under-pressure resignation by a sitting House speaker.

Wright passed away in 2015.