Campaign Legal Center v. FEC alleges failure to act on complaint (21-0406)

On February 16, 2021, Campaign Legal Center (plaintiff) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the Commission failed to act on its administrative complaint. The plaintiff seeks injunctive and declaratory relief under the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act).

Background

The Act requires reporting by a person (other than a political committee) that makes independent expenditures aggregating over $250 in a calendar year with respect to a given election. The report must identify each person (other than a political committee) that made a contribution over $200 to the reporting entity in the calendar year, with additional information to indicate each person who made such a contribution for the purpose of furthering an independent expenditure.

The plaintiff alleges that Heritage Action for America, a 501(c)(4) organization, solicited contributions for independent expenditures made during the 2018 election cycle. According to the court complaint, on October 16, 2018, the plaintiff filed an administrative complaint with the Commission alleging that Heritage Action for America violated the Act by failing to disclose who paid to further its independent expenditures in the required disclosure reports.

The plaintiff asks the court to declare that the FEC has acted contrary to law by failing to act on the administrative complaint, and to order the FEC to conform with that declaration within 30 days.

Resources

• Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (21-0406) litigation page