Terry McAuliffe, who previously helped the Clinton administration raise campaign contributions by renting out the Lincoln Bedroom, made a $1.35 million cash deposit as security for the mortgage Hillary Clinton needed to establish residency in Chappaqua, New York, in order to run for a senate seat in that state. Contacted by the American Enterprise, various non-partisan government watchdog groups devoted to campaign finance reform had no opinion on the transfer. Public Campaign, a group "dedicated to sweeping reform... to dramatically reduce... the influence of big contributors in American politics," had "no official comment." Common Cause, which "represents the unified voice of the people against corruption in government and big money special interests," had "nothing issued in writing." The Center for Responsive Politics, which "tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy," offered no public comment, saying the matter was "outside our area of expertise." (Public outcry eventually overturned the arrangement.)

On a related note, Frank Greve of the Knight-Ridder news service reports that Bill Moyers, producer of many documentaries exposing the corrupting influence of money on politics, violated some basic journalistic ethics in his reporting. In one PBS show, "Free Speech for Sale," Moyers interviewed three "experts" on campaign finance reform, all of whom represent organizations that received $2.6 million from the Florence & John Schumann Foundation, whose president is none other than Moyers himself, at a salary of $200,000. In a Frontline special titled "Washington's Other Scandal," Moyers announced that "the arms race in campaign money is undermining the very soul of our democracy," referring viewers to the web sites of reform groups, most bankrolled by Moyers.

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