Four weeks ago a former employee of Murray Energy filed a lawsuit against CEO Bob Murray because he fired her after she refused to make political donations as instructed by him.
“Not only did Mr. Murray name candidates and specify the amount to be contributed to each candidate, but he also required that the political contributions be returned directly to him in a self-addressed envelope that he enclosed with each of his letters to her,” the lawsuit states.
ThinkProgress examined financial records and discovered the names of the candidates CEO Bob Murray directed the donations to as well as the amount of each donation.
One name among the group that sticks out to me, and the second biggest recipient of cash, is Scott Brown.
In the latest accusation of coercion against Murray, the former employee cited fundraising letters she received from Murray in late May of 2014. Those letters asked for contributions to four Republican candidates for U.S. Senate: Scott Brown from New Hampshire, Ed Gillespie from Virginia, Terri Lynn Land from Michigan, and Mike McFadden from Minnesota.
Scott Brown is a name that sticks out to me because while he is the second biggest recipient of contributions from Murray’s PAC, he’s also failing spectacularly in his race against Senator Jeanne Shaheen. But you could say Ed Gillespie is an even greater tale of failure as he is the biggest recipient of contributions from Murray’s PAC and he’s currently polling nearly 14 percent below his opponent.
Scott Brown, Ed Gillespie, Terri Lynn Land, and Mike McFadden are all polling behind their opponents, with Ed Gillespie trailing Mark Warner by nearly 14 points and Mike McFadden trailing Al Franken as much as 13 points according to the RCP average.
It’s entirely possible and plausible that every campaign CEO Bob Murray has commanded his employees to donate to will lose.
It’s also possible that donations made by Murray’s PAC were used to fund this amazingly nonsensical ad the Scott Brown campaign released last week.
The one employee who refused to make Murray’s required donations to these failing candidates was fired.