Political Compliance Services Inc. announced Thursday afternoon that Christopher Ward had resigned as of Jan. 31.
Ward has been identified as a target of an FBI investigation into fraudulent activity at the National Republican Congressional Committee that is alleged to have taken place when he served as NRCC treasurer.
PCS claims that Ward provided services to the NRCC through C.J. Ward & Co. LLC, which it says is a company owned by Ward and not affiliated with PCS.
“There is no indication that the investigation is in any way related to Mr. Ward’s work with PCS,” PCS’ news release reads. “At PCS, Mr. Ward only worked for those clients he brought to the firm.”
PCS provides campaign finance reporting and compliance services. Ward handled these tasks as NRCC treasurer and later provided the same services as an outside vendor to the committee, an arrangement that only recently came to an end.
Last Friday, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) released a statement saying that after looking at the NRCC’s books, auditors had determined that fraud may have occurred, and that the committee had subsequently invited the FBI to investigate.
Republican sources familiar with the investigation have universally identified Ward as the alleged perpetrator.
Many of Ward's clients have severed ties with PCS in the past few days in the wake of news reports about the investigation.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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