National Post Staff
© Provided by National Post Sen. Lynn Beyak
A Canadian senator, who has stirred controversy in the past, violated American law when, in May, she donated to U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
Ontario Sen. Lynn Beyak made a $300 contribution to the Republican National Committee, public records from the American Federal Election Commission show .
In the records, Beyak listed her occupation as retired and her address as a P.O. box on Davis Point Rd. in Dryden, N.Y., however, no such road or address exists in the rural New York town. Vice News, which first reported the story, also stated there is no Lynn Beyak in the American town.
The senator lives in Dryden, Ont., and Vice reports that a phonebook listing that matches the address in the donation receipt belongs to Beyak.
At the time of her donation, she was still a member of the Canadian Senate.
American federal laws prohibit campaigns from soliciting or accepting contributions from foreign nationals who do not hold U.S. citizenship.
Parsing through financial disclosures, Vice reports that there is no indication that Beyak holds dual citizenship or owns property in the states.
Beyak’s office confirmed to Vice that the senator did send in the political donation, however the money “is being returned in its entirety, simply because (the contribution) was erroneous.”
The RNC must report all returned donations but has not reported returning the senator’s contribution.
Since former prime minister Stephen Harper appointed Beyak to the Senate in 2013, she has had a series of controversies.
Senate votes to suspend Lynn Beyak again despite her apology for posting offensive letters on website
In 2017, the Conservative Senate caucus expelled her after she called for the creation of a program in which Indigenous peoples could receive cash if they relinquished their protected status and land.
In February, sitting as an independent, Beyak was suspended for the remainder of the parliamentary session because she did not complete the anti-racism training she had been directed to undergo.
Beyak’s suspension ended when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament in the summer.
Beyak is back on the government payroll, collecting her full $157,600-a-year salary, and has access to Senate resources, CBC reported .
In Canada, senators are appointed until their mandatory retirement age of 75 and it can be difficult to remove a senator from his or her post.
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