Jump to full article: New York Times, 2007-12-15
Author: LESLIE WAYNE
Intro: When Mike Huckabee became lieutenant governor of Arkansas in 1993 . . .
To bridge the gap between his income and his expenses, Mr. Huckabee and a few close political advisers came up with a plan. They formed a nonprofit organization that raised money for Mr. Huckabee to travel the country promoting conservative politics to fellow ministers and attacking Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan. . . .
In its three-year life span, the organization, Action America, collected $119,916 from a dozen or so donors. Among them were former Senator Bob Dole’s political action committee, an Arkansas cotton gin owner who had been jailed for stock fraud, and R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco giant that had opposed the Clinton health plan. As for Mr. Huckabee, he ended up with $61,500 for his efforts before becoming governor in July 1996 and shuttering the group. . . .
As for Action America, new details have emerged, first reported by Newsweek, about the extent of tobacco money behind it and the way the industry tried to use Mr. Huckabee’s rising profile among conservatives to create grass-roots opposition to the Clinton effort, which would have raised taxes on cigarettes.
Mr. Huckabee, who was president of Action America, has denied knowing that Reynolds money was behind the group — a claim other officers of Action America dispute. But long before Mr. Huckabee began seeking the Republican presidential nomination, he resisted efforts to identify Action America’s donors. . . .
Two political associates, J. J. Vigneault and Greg Graves, who were also consultants to R. J. Reynolds, a division of Reynolds American, approached Mr. Huckabee with the idea of creating a nonprofit so he could earn money from speaking engagements — and, at the same time, drum up opposition to the Clinton plan. Mr. Huckabee was the only person paid by the organization.
“We would give him the Congressional districts to go to,” Mr. Vigneault said in an interview. “And he would put together the pastoral meetings. . . .
Others involved in the effort included Brenda Turner, who became Mr. Huckabee’s chief of staff, and William Cox, his personal accountant. The organization was registered in Texas.
Tax filings reported in Arkansas newspapers show that Mr. Huckabee gave 38 speeches to nearly 4,000 people in nine states — but not Arkansas — in 1994 and 1995. . . .
Maura Payne, a spokeswoman for R. J. Reynolds, said company records showed that it gave the group $20,000. The company is continuing to search its records to see whether it gave more.
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