There's a reason it's called the "appearance" of impropriety

Good grief:

There is no evidence that Axelrod directly profited from the group's ads. Axelrod took steps to separate himself from AKPD when he joined Obama's White House. AKPD owes him $2 million from his stock sale and will make preset payments over four years, starting with $350,000 on Dec. 31, according to Axelrod's personal financial disclosure report.

Do large contracts not ensure that Axelrod will be paid? Are his former partners and likely campaign contributors being rewarded? No evidence of Axelrod profiting, clearly.

(while proofreading I noticed a bugaboo: directly. I think the point is still more than valid)