Scott Brown To Donate $34k To Charity As Part Of “People’s Pledge”

Republican Sen. Scott Brown said on Thursday that he will write a check for $34,545 to charity after a special interest group recently ran ads attacking his challenger, Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Brown’s donation, which will go to a charity of Warren’s choice, is part of a “People’s Pledge” between the two senate candidates that aims to keep interest groups from influencing the election. The agreement, struck in January, stipulates that if a candidate benefits from ads generated by an outside group, the candidate must then donate half of the cost of the ad to charity.

In this case, the American Petroleum Institute recently took out radio and print ads to attack Warren’s policy to “eliminate oil subsidies for energy companies,” Boston.com reports, which the interest group says amounts to a tax increase.

“I am pleased to uphold my end of the bargain with Professor Warren,” Brown said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “With this action, we have taken a step toward strengthening the People’s Pledge by expanding it to cover issue ads. I am determined to keep third-party groups out of Massachusetts and I am encouraged that issue ads are now covered and by the commitment that both candidates have shown to honoring the People’s Pledge.”

This marks the 2nd time Brown has made a donation as part of the pledge–in March, he donated $1,000 to the Autism Consortium after a conservative political action committee broke the pledge when it ran an ad attacking Warren.

via Boston.com

[Image credit: The Republican | Mark M. Murray]