Kamala Harris’ Truancy Troubles and Big Money Backers

Kamala Harris has long touted that her strict school truancy policy as District Attorney and Attorney General never resulted in sending any parent to jail. The Washington Post fact checkers awarded Harris two Pinocchio’s for this misleading claim:

“When she is asked about her anti-truancy initiative these days, Harris carefully frames her answers in terms of what happened in San Francisco when she was district attorney. No parents were jailed there, so her responses cannot be faulted for being inaccurate.”

“But they can be faulted for lacking context. Harris went on to become the attorney general of California. She championed a law that other district attorneys outside San Francisco used to jail at least a handful of parents. The Root asked about Harris’s anti-truancy measures in a question about her time as district attorney and attorney general, but she gave only half an answer. It’s a significant omission worth Two Pinocchios.”

In other news that cause problems for her in this progressive primary, Harris will be heading to a high dollar fundraiser hosted by real estate developer Angelo Tsakopoulos this weekend. As RealClearPolitics explains, Tsakopoulos is “a multimillionaire with ties to corrupt politicians, a longtime patron of the Clinton family, a man who once bragged that staying in the Lincoln Bedroom was his proudest moment.”

Harris “has taken more than $20,000 from the controversial developer since she first ran for California attorney general.” Which leads to the question of what type of influence would Tsakopoulos have over a potential Harris administration?

Liberal campaign finance activists are already concerned about Harris’ big money fundraisers. Common Cause Vice President Paul S. Ryan said he was “not crazy about Sen. Harris rubbing elbows with big-dollar donors.” The liberal activists are also concerned that Harris recruited campaign attorney Marc Elias, “who taught Hillary Clinton staffers how to coordinate with pro-Clinton super PACs to solicit unlimited donations.”

Harris’ continued big money fundraisers places her at an awkward spot in one of the Democratic primary’s many litmus tests when Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have already pledged not to hold any big-dollar fundraising events.