Vertol Systems Company, the Oregon-based company Republican Florida Governor paid more than $1.5 million so far to traffick Venezuelan asylum seekers from Texas to Massachusetts, appears to have violated campaign finance laws by donating to Matt Gaetz and another Florida Republican candidate while it was a government contractor, reports Forbes.
In August 2016, Vertol got a four-year, $3.4 million Defense Department contract to train pilots. Two weeks after getting the contract, the company gave $2,500 to a Florida PAC, North Florida Neighbors, affiliated with Republicans Matt Gaetz and Neal Dunn, who were running for office for the first time. In March 2017, after Gaetz had won, the company gave the PAC an additional $5,000.
While the law at the time of the donations clearly blocks contractors from donating to campaigns, some other issues may prevent the company from ever seeing justice: The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court would likely void the prohibition, and the first donation has now fallen out of the statute of limitations.