The PAC Coordination Loophole: How Laurel Libby Hid the Money Trail

April 20, 2025

It wasn’t a defense fund. It was a funnel.

Behind Rep. Laurel Libby’s claims of needing legal defense support, a far more insidious strategy was at play:

PAC coordination.
Shell-game fund transfers.
Deliberate misrepresentation of donor intent.

This is how the Dinner Table PAC and Fight for Freedom PAC operated as political laundering tools—turning grassroots grief into unrestricted dark money.

How It Worked

PACs are legally required to remain independent from candidates. Libby broke that wall.

She donated $700 to The Dinner Table PAC.
PACs funneled money back into her campaign infrastructure via “consulting,” ads, and “operating expenditures.”
Over $132,000 remains unaccounted for from The Dinner Table PAC.

All while donors thought they were funding a lawsuit.

The Loophole in Action

Direct contributions to candidates are capped in Maine
But PACs can raise unlimited funds
So wealthy donors gave to PACs instead
Those PACs then spent money on Libby’s behalf, sidestepping legal limits

That’s not fundraising. That’s laundering—with a flag on it.

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What the Law Says (and She Violated)

11 C.F.R. § 109.21: No direct coordination between PACs and campaigns
52 U.S.C. § 30116(a): Contribution caps exist for a reason
18 U.S.C. § 1343: Wire fraud may apply if donors were misled

Libby’s PAC network not only coordinated with her campaign, it disguised that coordination as independent activism.

Captured Evidence Includes:

Donation records with misclassified donor identities
PAC-to-PAC transfers showing redirection of donor money
Lack of any itemized legal expenses despite the “defense fund” branding
Archived screenshots of fundraising claims that contradict financial disclosures

The Bigger Picture

This is a national template in action.