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Federal Election Commission | United States of America
  • Press Release

Compliance Cases Made Public

August 12, 2004

For Immediate Release
August 12, 2004		 Contact: Kelly Huff
Bob Biersack
Ian Stirton
George Smaragdis
COMPLIANCE CASES MADE PUBLIC
 

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission has recently made public its final action on three matters previously under review (MURs). This release contains only disposition information.

1. MUR 5180  
     
  RESPONDENTS:

(a)   Dear 2000, Inc., Abraham Roth, treasurer

(b)   Jewish Press, Inc.
  COMPLAINANT: Ron Friedman, Chairman, Friends of Weiner
  SUBJECT: Failure to report expenditures; corporate contributions
  DISPOSITION:

(a)   Reason to believe, but took no further action *

  [re: failure to report expenditures; corporate   contributions]

(b)   Reason to believe, but took no further action *

  [re: corporate contributions]

  The complaint alleged that the Dear 2000, Inc. failed to report campaign expenditures associated with certain advertisements the Committee placed in the Jewish Press paper. The Commission found reason to believe the Committee violated the law by failing to report the expenditures. The Commission found reason to believe the Jewish Press, Inc. made and the Committee accepted, an in-kind corporate contribution in connection with these advertisements in the form of an extension of credit that ripened into a contribution through a lack of commercially reasonable attempts to collect the debt. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and took no further action.
  DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: Documents from this matter are available from the Commission''''s web site at http://eqs.sdrdc.com/eqs/searcheqs by entering 5180 under case number. They are also available in the FECs Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington.
     
2. MUR 5321  
     
  RESPONDENTS: (a)   Janet Robert for Congress, Teresa Silha, treasurer

(b)   Janet Robert

(c)   Mary Robert
  COMPLAINANT: Donald McGahn II, General Counsel, National Republican Congressional Committee
  SUBJECT: Excessive contribution; exceeding the annual $25,000 contribution limit; failure to report receipts
  DISPOSITION:

(a)   Reason to believe, but took no further action *

   [re: excessive contribution; failure to report receipts]

(b)   Reason to believe, but took no further action*

  [re: excessive contribution]

(c)   Reason to believe, but took no further action*

  [re: excessive contribution; exceeding the annual $25,000   contribution limit]

  The complaint alleged that Janet Robert a candidate for Minnesota ''''s Sixth Congressional District in 2002, accepted a contribution from her mother, Mary Robert, in excess of the contribution limits permitted by the Act, and that Janet Robert for Congress failed to report these contributions. The Commission initially found reason to believe that a violation had occurred, in order to further investigate the activity at issue. By a vote of 3-3 the Commission rejected the General Counsel''''s recommendation to enter into conciliation with the respondents, prior to finding probable cause to believe and voted 5-1 to close the file.
  DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: Documents from this matter are available from the Commission''''s web site at http://eqs.sdrdc.com/eqs/searcheqs by entering 5321 under case number. They are also available in the FECs Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington.
     
3. MUR 5336  
     
  RESPONDENTS:

(a)   Sean O''''Keefe

(b)   Space Gateway Support, LLC (SGS)

(c)   Yang Enterprises, Inc.

(d)   Tom Feeney for Congress, Nancy H. Watkins, treasurer
  COMPLAINANT: Chris R. Hunt
  SUBJECT: Contributions by a federal contractor; corporate contribution
  DISPOSITION:

(a)   No reason to believe*

  [re: any provision of the Act with regards to allegations in this matter]

(b)   No reason to believe*

  [re: Contributions by a federal contractor; corporate   contribution]

(c-d)   Dismiss the allegations as a matter of prosecutorial   discretion*

  The complaint alleged that Sean O''''Keefe, the Administrator of NASA; Space Gateway Support, LLC, a NASA contractor; and Yang Enterprises, Inc., a NASA subcontractor, unlawfully used federal property and funds for campaign activities on behalf of Tom Feeney, a candidate in Florida ''''s 24 th Congressional District in 2002. The Commission either dismissed or found no reason to believe in this matter.
  DOCUMENTS ON THE PUBLIC RECORD: Documents from this matter are available from the Commission''''s web site at http://eqs.sdrdc.com/eqs/searcheqs by entering 5336 under case number. They are also available in the FECs Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington.

*There are four administrative stages to the FEC enforcement process:

1. Receipt of proper complaint 3. ?Probable cause? stage
2. ?Reason to believe? stage 4. Conciliation stage

It requires the votes of at least four of the six Commissioners to take any action. The FEC can close a case at any point after reviewing a complaint. If a violation is found and conciliation cannot be reached, then the FEC can institute a civil court action against a respondent.

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This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public.

The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.