Dems race to return Boston law firm’s donations

Democrats are scrambling to return money linked to a Boston law firm at the center of a political donation scandal.

{mosads}A handful of high-profile Democratic senators and Senate candidates have received tens of thousands of dollars from the personal injury firm Thornton Law Firm — donations that stemmed from illegal reimbursements, according to a new report from The Boston Globe and the Center for Responsive Politics.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, former Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Katie McGinty, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy have all donated the campaign cash to the U.S. Treasury, a common method to “disgorge” tainted money from a campaign, according to local media reports and statements from their campaigns.

Those Democrats are vying for swing-state seats in many of 2016’s most-watched Senate races.

Members of the firm donated $45,000 to Feingold, $31,000 to Hassan, $25,000 to McGinty, $23,000 to Masto and $21,800 to Murphy.

The report discovered that the law firm paid their partners bonuses that almost directly matched the political contributions they made. For example, the same day that three partners donated $2,000 to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), the firm gave the three partners bonuses for the same amount.

Since federal election law limits how much an individual can donate to a candidate, it’s illegal to secretly give through another individual, called a “straw donor.” It’s also against Massachusetts state law for corporations to make political donations, according to the report.

Now-tainted Thornton Law Firm dollars were also directed to many other Democratic candidates and causes — the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee received $1.5 million, the Democratic National Committee received $333,000 and Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century received $250,000, according to the Globe investigation.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her political action committee received $130,000, and future Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) received $100,000, while President Obama also received $100,000 for his presidential bid.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) is the only Republican to break into the top echelon of campaign contributions — he received $62,800.

None of those lawmakers immediately returned requests for comments as to whether they would part with the money, too.

— Jordain Carney contributed.