The Tacoma News-Tribune's Niki Sullivan has been reporting at their Political Buzz blog on a visit Dino Rossi made to Tacoma on Wednesday to the Christian Businessmen's Connection (CMBC), where she suggests Rossi's campaign may have breached the spirit of the law, if not the letter.

The CMBC is a non-profit 501(c)3 public charity, and because of that tax exempt status with the IRS, they are not allowed to involve themselves in partisan politics. The group insists that the meeting had nothing to do with politics, though Sullivan provided evidence that may prove to the contrary.

One attendee wrote on a blog after the event, "honestly, we all couldn't help but ask him political questions." And in an audio recording obtained by the TNT, the group's president Dwight Mason made a veiled plea on behalf of Rossi.

"OK, at your table, this is not a fundraiser," Mason reportedly said, "although Dino did leave with us a couple envelopes there, and I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

Rossi spokesperson Jill straight told the TNT that they bring fundraising envelopes with them everywhere they go, and insisted that "Just having somebody speak isn’t participating in a political campaign."

Straight pointed to Gregoire's visit to the non-profit VFW the same day. However, Gregoire’s campaign rented the hall and acknowledged that it was a campaign event, not a VFW event. The Gregoire campaign had no comment on the Rossi event.

Read the full paper story here.