Gelman v. FEC (80-2471)

On March 11, 1981, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied plaintiffs' motion to find the FEC in contempt of court for failing to obey the court's October 24, 1980, order in the suit, Felice M. Gelman and Citizens for LaRouche v. FEC (Civil Action No. 80-2471). In that order, the court ruled that, although the Commission had undertaken an investigation pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §9039(b), the FEC had to notify the Citizens for LaRouche Committee of any investigations conducted of contributors to Mr. LaRouche's 1980 primary campaign, pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §437g(a)(2). Pursuant to the court's order, the FEC undertook no further investigations into the Committee's affairs.

In denying plaintiffs' motion, the court noted that the investigation cited by the LaRouche Committee in its contempt of court motion referred to a separate investigation the Commission had undertaken in March 1981, pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §437g(a)(2). That investigation resulted from the Audit Division's identifying a matching fund contribution that the LaRouche Committee may have submitted with false documentation. The court observed that the FEC had afforded plaintiffs the required notice before proceeding with this investigation.

Source:   FEC Record — May 1981. Gelman v. FEC, 2 Fed. Elec. Camp. Fin. Guide (CCH) ¶9139 (D.D.C. 1980).