Mark Levin dismisses pay-to-play charge

By MANU RAJU and DYLAN BYERS | 

Conservative talk-radio host Mark Levin is defending himself against charges that he engaged in a quid-pro-quo transaction with the Senate Conservatives Fund, promoting the right-wing group after it spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his book.
Since Sept. 10, SCF has spent $427,000 on copies of Levin's "Liberty and Tyranny," according to Federal Election Committee filings. Those books were given to donors who provided $25 or more to the group.
In that time, Levin has frequently promoted the SCF on his show and on his Facebook page. "Senate Conservatives Fund is dedicated to electing true conservatives to the Senate!" Levin wrote in one post. Levin did not disclose the SCF's purchases to his listeners.


On Thursday, in response to a POLITICO report noting the SCF's purchases, National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Brad Dayspring cast suspicion on the relationship between Levin and the SCF. Establishment leaders have frequently criticized the pro-tea party group of targeting Senate Republicans.
"Fishy: Senate Conservatives Fund spent hundreds of thousands of donor dollars to make Mark Levin's book a bestseller," Dayspring wrote on Twitter.
Responding on Facebook, Levin called Dayspring an "idiot" and "NRSC hit man" engaging in "sleazy inside-the-beltway tactics." His book had sold 1.3 million copies over the past five years, of which SCF purchases accounted for just 3 percent, he wrote. "In addition, the SCF worked directly with the publisher, not me, in making these arrangements."
Levin added, "I hold [Mitch] McConnell and the chairman of the NRSC -- Jerry Moran of Kansas -- personally and politically accountable for the sleazy intimidation tactics of their current and former staffers. My opposition to McConnell's reelection is underscored by pathetic behavior like this. Conservatives should not give a dime to the NRSC, money which is used to pay the salaries of these hit men and empower McConnell, et al."
Reached via email, Dayspring wrote, "This has nothing to do with the NRSC. It's about how SCF spends their donors' money, which includes $427,000 of purchases of Mark Levin's book in just the last few months. That fact has not been disclosed to Mark Levin's listeners or SCF donors prior to today, a fact which raises eyebrows."
Levin intends to address the issue again on his radio program Thursday night.