Why is it so many Republicans have a problem following the law???? Martinez blames his staff on the massive errors. He blamed his staff for outrageous ads against his opponents in 2004, and for a memo on how to score political points using Terri Shiavo. Yet the Republican party thinks his leadership abilities are so great that he should be the Republican National Committee chairman. Oh I forgot….competence and morals have nothing to do with the Republican party appointments. What a scumbag.

WASHINGTON - Mel Martinez’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign has been forced to refund nearly $95,000 in contributions after a federal audit that also found information lacking on nearly half its contributors.

Martinez spent $12.3 million in the campaign and narrowly defeated Betty Castor of Tampa.

In a statement released Tuesday night in anticipation of the audit’s release Wednesday, Martinez said his campaign has addressed all deficiencies and corrected financial reports.

“This campaign takes seriously the substance of the matter and made changes subsequent to that election to ensure full and timely compliance with all campaign finance laws in the future,” Martinez said.

This year, at the behest of President Bush, the first-term senator also became chairman of the national Republican Party.

The Tampa Tribune revealed the problems with Martinez’s campaign finances in a November 2005 story.

Read more at TBO