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Election Commission Seeks Details on PAC Once Tied to Zinke

Fundraising committee didn't initially disclose more than $600,000 in contributions

By Tristan Scott
Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke speaks at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting in Whitefish. Beacon file photo

BILLINGS — Federal election officials are asking a political fundraising committee formerly affiliated with U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to explain why it didn’t initially disclose more than $600,000 in contributions.

The Federal Election Commission on Sunday set a May 7 deadline for representatives of SEAL PAC to clarify the discrepancy between a report submitted last July and an amended version filed Jan. 31.

Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift said Tuesday the former Navy SEAL hasn’t been affiliated with the organization for more than a year and was not with it when the reports were produced.

SEAL PAC stands for Supporting Electing American Leaders. It was created in 2014, the year Zinke was elected to the U.S. House in Montana.

Former SEAL PAC treasurer Vincent DeVito is now a top Zinke aide.