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Jill Stein Can’t ‘Guarantee’ Money Will Go to Recount, Changes $$$ Goal

 

Image of Jill Stein via Fox News screengrabBefore you donate to Green Party candidate Jill Stein‘s effort to demand a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, you may want to read the fine print on her website. So far, she has raised $4.8 million, but take a look at this little clause at the end of donation form:

We cannot guarantee a recount will happen in any of these states we are targeting. We can only pledge we will demand recounts in those states.

If we raise more than what’s needed, the surplus will also go toward election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform.

And interestingly, as more donations started pouring in over the holiday, Stein moved her total fundraising goal to $7 million. She originally had a goal of $2.5 million.  She also upped the amount she will need for lawyer’s fees.

What’s even stranger is that she seems to be tinkering with some of the language on her website about the likelihood of a recount.  On November 23, 2016, according to a screen capture by Tim Young, a political comedian, the website stated “[i]f we do not raise enough for any recount (which is highly unlikely) we pledge to use the money for election integrity efforts and to promote systematic voting system reform.”

However, as of Friday morning, the language of not raising enough money was removed from her website. Take a look at this screenshot:

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We reached out to Jill Stein’s campaign for further explanation on why the donation terms are changing. This could pose a problem, legally, if action is taken by donors who feel like the money wasn’t used for the stated goal.

UPDATE: 5:20 pm

David Cobb, campaign manager for Jill Stein, responded to LawNewz’s inquiry. He said that to them the above is explanatory text, not discrepancies. Once they got more information about the recount, he said they changed the text on the website to be clearer.  Additionally, Cobb said they only factored in Wisconsin when they first publicized their $2.5 million goal on their website. Once the campaign realized the cost of a recount for other states, they upped the goal, he said.

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Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.