CREW, et al. v. FEC alleges failure to act on administrative complaint (D.D.C. 1:18-cv-01059-TNM)

On May 4, 2018, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”) and its executive director, Noah Bookbinder, (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed suit against the Commission in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Plaintiffs allege the Commission failed to act on their administrative complaint, and seek injunctive and declaratory relief.

Background

The plaintiffs allege that Coalition for Progress, an independent expenditure-only committee (“Super PAC”) registered with the FEC, reported the receipt of a $1,000,000 contribution on December 24, 2015, from DE First Holdings.

According to the complaint, DE First Holdings was formed as a Delaware Statutory Trust one day prior to making the contribution, and the Plaintiffs allege that an Unknown Respondent (or Respondents) used it as a conduit to make the contribution to Coalition for Progress. According to the court complaint, on February 19, 2016, the Plaintiffs filed an administrative complaint with the FEC against DE First Holdings and an Unknown Respondent (or Respondents), as well as Coalition for Progress and its treasurer, Ana Rivas (collectively “respondents”). The Plaintiffs alleged that the respondents violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by knowingly making and accepting a political contribution in the name of another.

The Plaintiffs argue that sufficient time has elapsed to allow the Commission to conduct an investigation and that the Commission’s failure to act on the administrative complaint is unreasonable and contrary to law. The Plaintiffs request that the court declare that the Commission’s failure to act on the administrative complaint is contrary to law and order that the Commission act on the administrative complaint within 30 days.

Resources

• CREW, et al. v. FEC (18-1059) litigation page