Dan Cox Lied About Congressional Filing

Someone working on Dan Cox's behalf filed paperwork for Cox's seemingly aborted Congressional Run. This may create legal and professional problems for Cox

“Derp”- Dan Cox, probably

Remember how Dan Cox blamed a Twitter bot for Cox filing paperwork with the FEC indicating he was running for Congress?

In a story somehow overlooked by everybody in Maryland this week, The Daily Beast reported that that isn’t quite the case: somebody close to Dan Cox and working on Cox’s behalf filed it for him:

Dan Cox, the rightwinger who lost the Maryland governor’s race last year, has been telling the press that he doesn’t know who was behind a July 3 statement of candidacy in his name. He even said he alerted the Federal Election Commission to the matter.

It should be a short investigation: The person was the treasurer Cox had hired to do just that.

The Daily Beast has obtained emails and text messages that show Cox planned a congressional bid since at least mid-June. It would have been a quick comeback from the trouncing he received in 2022 from now Gov. Wes Moore, and given the attention and controversy Cox’s candidacy drew to that race, a follow-up House bid would have raised eyebrows across the state.

But it appears that, at least for now, Cox is foregoing that opportunity, even if he isn’t being upfront about it.

So, to recap, Cox was planning a run for Congress, had people working on his behalf prepare the filings, opened a campaign fundraising operation, and filed with the FEC. Only for Cox to come back and say that it was “fake news” and accuse somebody of doing it without his consent and without acknowledging that he knew exactly what was going on.

In short, Dan Cox lied about all of this:

The emails, which were exchanged last month between Cox adviser Rory McShane and professional political accountant Tom Datwyler, show McShane took several steps on Cox’s behalf to set up the campaign committee. At one point, McShane gave the green light to an official “Dan Cox for Congress” online WinRed fundraising ad, which, as of this report, is still live.

The two men also agreed on when Datwyler should file the statement of candidacy and open the campaign. In a June 14 email, Datwyler told McShane that if the campaign were to submit the statement before July 1, that would also require a full quarterly report covering April through June 30….

But when reporters contacted Cox after the FEC filing appeared recently, the election denier feigned disbelief.

Cox told Maryland Matters on July 3 that he didn’t know the story behind the filing, but claimed that he hadn’t ruled out a 2024 congressional run.

“We didn’t make a decision,” Cox told Maryland Matters on July 3, adding, “I’d like to know who did this.”

McShane was a guest on The Duckpin Podcast in 2020.

The long and short of it is that Dan Cox knew exactly who was doing the filing and why. Instead of acknowledging that people working on his behalf had done the filing, Cox instead did what he always does; create a vast conspiracy aimed at himself and blamed others for actions that he himself took.

“All this to cover up for the fact that he filed without notifying his wife and kids”, one GOP Political Operative speculated.

The question now is what consequences Cox may face for his deceit in this matter. Cox told the Frederick News-Post that he had “reported it to the FEC.” It is unclear if Cox actually filed any paperwork with the FEC about a complaint and what potential legal action could be taken against Cox.

Cox could also have problems with his law license in Maryland. One attorney told The Duckpin:

Those forms contain affidavits, he’s basically accusing someone of committing a federal crime, or is lying about his own candidacy. Coz needs to deal with rules 8.4 (c) and (d) which prohibit conduct involving deceit deception, misrepresentation or fraud, or conduct that tends to prejudice the administration of justice.

When I asked the attorney if somebody could file a complaint with the bar if Cox was lying somebody, the attorney said:

at least, in principle, yes. In practice it’s one that’s either connected with the practice of law, or involves damages to the legal rights of somebody else, or against the government. Claiming that documents got filed fraudulently with the government isn’t technically a false statement with the intent of getting charges filed, but it comes uncomfortably close. there’s a good chance that the story has been misreported of course, we are prepared to believe it because we regard Dan Cox correctly as a disaster fountain

The moral of the story, of course, is that never believe a word that comes out of Dan Cox’s mouth. Sadly, it’s a lesson his most ardent fans seem to have failed to learn.