| WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission has recently made public
its final action on 13 matters previously under review (MURs). This release contains only
disposition information. Specific released documents placed on the public record within
the following closed MURs are cited following DISPOSITION heading. Release of these
documents is consistent with the district court opinion in the December 19, 2001, decision
of AFL-CIO v. FEC, now on appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Once an appellate
decision is rendered, the Commission will review documents related to cases released in
the interim.
| 1. |
MUR 5025 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Honorable Marge Roukema (b) The Committee
to Re-Elect Congresswoman Marge Roukema, Jaye L. Parsons, treasurer
(c) Republican Leadership Council |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
Stephen Moore, President, The Club for Growth |
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| SUBJECT: |
Excessive contributions; failure to report
contributions |
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| DISPOSITION: |
(a) No reason to believe* [re: excessive
contributions]
(b) No reason to believe*
[re: excessive contributions; failure to report contributions]
(c) No reason to believe*
[re: any provision of the Act] |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
First General Counsel’s Report (dated March
6, 2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated March 18, 2003) |
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| 2. |
MUR 5072 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Gore 2000, Inc., Jose Villarreal, treasurer (b)
David Jackson |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
Michael Deutsch |
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| SUBJECT: |
Excessive contribution |
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| DISPOSITION: |
(a-b) No reason to believe* |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
First General Counsel’s Report (dated March
11, 2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated March 14, 2003) |
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| 3. |
MUR 5166 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
Missouri Republican State Committee –
Federal Committee, Harvey M. Tettlebaum, treasurer |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
FEC Initiated |
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| SUBJECT: |
Failure to maintain records for all
contributions received; failure to maintain records of persons contributing in excess of
$50; failure to accurately report cash-on-hand at the beginning of the reporting periods,
and total amount of receipts and disbursements |
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| DISPOSITION: |
Conciliation Agreement: $43,000 civil penalty* |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Conciliation Agreement; certification of vote by
Commissioners (dated February 6, 2003); receipt of payment (dated January 14, 2003) |
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| 4. |
MUR 5248 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Bush-Cheney 2000, Inc., David Herndon,
treasurer (b) Bush for President, Inc., David Herndon, treasurer
(c) Enron Corporation
(d) Ralph E. Reed
(e) Karl Rove |
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| COMPLAINANTS: |
Larry Klayman, Chair and General Counsel of
Judicial Watch, Inc. and Thomas J. Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, Inc. |
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| SUBJECT: |
Corporate contribution; failure to report
contribution |
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| DISPOSITION: |
(a-e) No reason to believe* [re: violated any
provision of the Act] |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
First General Counsel’s Report (dated
February 6, 2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated February 11, 2003) |
| 5/6. |
MURs 5283 & 5285 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Douglas K. Forrester (b) Forrester 2002
Committee, Ronald R. Gravino, treasurer
(c) BeneCard Services, Inc. |
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| COMPLAINANTS: |
New Jersey Democratic State Committee [5283] The
Gray Panthers [5285] |
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| SUBJECT: |
Corporate contributions |
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| DISPOSITION: |
(a-c) No reason to believe* |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
First General Counsel’s Report (dated
February 12, 2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated February 20, 2003) |
The Enforcement Priority System (EPS) rates all incoming cases against objective
criteria to determine whether they warrant use of the Commission’s limited resources.
Cases dismissed under EPS fall into two categories: low-rated cases and stale cases.
Low rated cases are those that do not warrant use of the Commission’s resources to
pursue because of their lower significance relative to other pending matters. Stale cases
are those that initially received a higher rating but have remained unassigned for a
significant period due to a lack of staff resources for effective investigation. Effective
enforcement relies upon the timely pursuit of complaints and referrals to ensure
compliance with the law. Investigations concerning activity more remote in time usually
require a greater commitment of resources, primarily due to the fact that the evidence of
such activity becomes more difficult to develop as it ages. The utility of commencing an
investigation declines as these cases age, until they reach a point when activation of a
case would not be an efficient use of the Commission’s resources. As cases reach this
point, they are recommended for dismissal.
Dismissed -Low Rated
| 7. |
MUR 5255 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Roy Brown for Congress, Kimberly
Brush-Supensky, treasurer (b) Roy E. Brown
(c) Brown Publishing Company
(d) Englewood Independent Times
(e) The Times Weekend Edition
(f) Huber Heights Courier Times
(g) Springboro Sun Times
(h) Vandalia Drummer News
(i) Centreville-Bellbrook Times
(j) Kettering-Oakwood Times
(k) Star Republican
(l) Brown News Service |
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| COMPLAINANTS: |
John C. Chambers, Esq. on behalf of Turner for
Congress |
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| SUBJECT: |
Corporate contributions |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 8. |
MUR 5256R |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Allied Pilots Association PAC, John C. Bury,
treasurer (b) First Officer Alexander Aitken
(c) Captain Robert Ames
(d) Captain James Annable
(e) Captain Tom Bloom
(f) Captain Denny Breslin
(g) First Officer Robert Dunning
(h) Captain Dave Eitel
(i) Captain Tom Frazer
(j) Peter Horan
(k) Captain Randy LeRuth
(l) Captain Linda Pauwels
(m) First Officer Robert L. Sproc
(n) Captain Leonard Turcotte |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
Mark L. Hunnibell |
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| SUBJECT: |
Failure to advise solicitees of their right to
refuse to contribute without reprisal |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 9. |
MUR 5271 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) A Whole Lot of People for Grijalva
Congressional Committee, Thomas Chandler, treasurer (b) Pima County
(c) Ruben Reyes |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
Ray Carroll |
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| SUBJECT: |
Use of state employee in a federal campaign |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 10. |
MUR 5280 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Bundgaard for Congress, Jennifer L. Seivert,
treasurer (b) www.bundgaard.com
(c) State of Arizona
(d) Scott Bundgaard for State Senate and treasurer |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
John Hughes |
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| SUBJECT: |
Use of state funds to promote federal campaign |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 11. |
MUR 5284 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) MBNA Corporation (b) Honorable James P.
Moran, Jr.
(c) Moran for Congress, H. Robert Morrison, treasurer |
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| COMPLAINANTS: |
Kenneth Boehm, Chair, National Legal and Policy
Central |
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| SUBJECT: |
Bank loan secured outside the ordinary course of
business |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 12. |
MUR 5289 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Friends of the Rouge, Chester G. Marvin,
treasurer (b) Friends of the Detroit River, Laurine Griffin, treasurer
(c) John Dingell for Congress Committee, Guy R. Martin, treasurer |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
James L. Graham |
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| SUBJECT: |
Non-profit organizations participating in
federal elections |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
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| 13. |
MUR 5301 |
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| RESPONDENTS: |
Charlotte Reeves for U.S. Congress, April White,
treasurer |
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| COMPLAINANT: |
Representative Bennie G. Thompson |
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| SUBJECT: |
Failure to file disclosure report timely |
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| DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
General Counsel’s Report (dated January 27,
2003); certification of vote by Commissioners (dated January 30, 2003) |
*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. |
