* Click here to read it for yourself.

* Meanwhile, John Bambenek recently paid $65 to troll local Democratic candidate Emily Rodriguez…

Getting endorsed by Blagojevich? Bold move, @emilyrod. cc: @electmikeingram @news_gazette pic.twitter.com/pCeueSE39I

— John Bambenek (@bambenek) March 2, 2020

Set aside the prank for a moment. That’s just a bad video all around and… what the heck is on Rod’s face? This is the clearest evidence yet that you should not be paying him for one of his goofy videos.

* Anyway, a Rodriguez ally actually filed a complaint with the Board of Elections claiming there should be a “paid for by” on Bambenek’s silly tweet. Click here to read it. That’s kinda weird because Bambenek isn’t running for anything and currently has no active candidate committee. It’s paid for, in other words, by Bambenek himself.

Mark Maxwell…

The complaint, dated March 2nd, alleges that Bambenek has supported Rosales in his primary challenge, and that he should have included a “paid for by” disclaimer in the video he posted to his 35,000 Twitter followers.

As chairman of the County Board, Rosales, a Democrat, has an obligation to appoint someone to fill the vacant Treasurer position. Bambenek, a Republican, has expressed interest in running for that seat in November. Bambenek claims he did not coordinate the gag with Rosales, and that the $65 expense is below the reporting threshold. He also argues the satire is protected under his right to exercise political speech, and does not consider the video an ‘in-kind contribution’ to the Rosales campaign.

If the expense were to be filed with the State Board of Elections, it would not appear until the next reporting period, which is after the primary will have concluded.

Even if it was an in-kind contribution, Rosales has no campaign committee. Bambenek couldn’t file an A-1 even if he wanted to.

* From Bambenek’s response…

In fact, until about the time of filing this complaint, [Emily Rodriguez’s] own twitter profile stated something of the form “once described as a gussied up Blago”. It has since been deleted.

Yep.

* Since she was the object of ridicule, Rodriguez will get the last word…

A man retaliates against a woman who denied him the attention he feels entitled to… I wish I were more surprised by this pattern of behavior. https://t.co/Tm7xsqG7kI

— Emily Rodriguez (@emilyrod) March 2, 2020