WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission recently has made public action on four matters previously under review (MURs). In MUR 5810, the Democratic Party of Virginia – Federal Campaign Committee paid a $17,500 civil penalty for failing to report receipts and disbursements accurately on its 2003 Mid-Year Report.
In MUR 5661, the Commission found no reason to believe that Keith Butler for U.S. Senate failed to file a Statement of Candidacy in a timely manner or received an in-kind contribution from the Word of Faith International Christian Center.
In MUR 5698, the Commission found no reason to believe that the Tenth District Blog violated the law by failing to register as a political committee or using a disclaimer in its communications. The Commission found no reason to believe that Illinois – 10 General Election Fund, a project of ActBlue and the Committee to Elect Zane Smith, violated the law or had any connection to the activities of the Blog.
Finally, the Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion in MUR 5792 and dismissed a complaint against the Christine Jennings for Congress Committee.
This release contains only disposition information.
1. |
MUR 5810 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
Democratic Party of Virginia – Federal Campaign Committee, Abbi G. Easter, treasurer |
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COMPLAINANT: |
FEC Initiated (RAD) |
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SUBJECT: |
Failure to report receipts and disbursements accurately |
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DISPOSITION: |
Conciliation Agreement: $17,500 civil penalty*
The FEC’s Reports Analysis Division discovered respondents failed to report receipts and disbursements in their 2003 Mid-Year Report. The Respondents signed a conciliation agreement in which they agreed to pay a $17,500 civil penalty. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the
Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering
5810 under case numbers in the Enforcement Query System. They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington. |
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2. |
MUR 5661 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Keith Butler for U.S. Senate, George R. Archer, Jr., treasurer
(b) Keith Butler
(c) Word of Faith International Christian Center |
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COMPLAINANT: |
John W. Geisler |
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SUBJECT: |
Failure to file Statement of Candidacy timely; testing the waters exemption; corporate contribution |
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DISPOSITION: |
(a-c) No reason to believe*
[re: violated any provision of the Act]
The complainant alleged that Keith Butler’s Senate committee distributed campaign literature and announced that he had raised over $100,000 in his campaign for U.S. Senate before filing a Statement of Candidacy with the Commission. The complaint also alleged that the Word of Faith International Christian Center, a non-profit corporation over which Butler presides as pastor, made a prohibited contribution by providing space to Butler to run his campaign. Finally, the complaint alleged that Butler’s exploratory campaign website included a link to Work of Faith’s website for purposes of contact information. The Commission found no reason to believe that Keith Butler, his campaign committee or Word of Faith International Christian Center violated the law; Butler’s exploratory effort was run out of his home and there was no link to Word of Faith’s website. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the
Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering
5661 under case numbers in the Enforcement Query System. They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington. |
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3. |
MUR 5698 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Tenth District Blog
(b) Illinois -10 General Election Fund, a project of ActBlue, Matthew DeBergalis, treasurer
(c) Committee to Elect Zane Smith, Barry J. Moltz, treasurer |
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COMPLAINANT: |
Andy McKenna, Jr., Chairman, Illinois Republican Party |
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SUBJECT: |
Failure to register and report, disclaimers |
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DISPOSITION: |
(a) No reason to believe*
[re: failure to register and report; disclaimers; any other provision of the Act]
(b-c) No reason to believe*
[re: any provision of the Act]
The complainant alleged that the Tenth District Blog expressly advocated the defeat of Congressman Mark Kirk (IL/10), solicited contributions for the campaigns of potential Democratic opponents, and failed to include a proper disclaimer on these communications. The Tenth District Blog was established by an anonymous person using Google’s E-blogger software, which is offered free of charge. Both ActBlue and the Smith Committee denied any knowledge or contact with the Blog and stated that they had not received contributions from the Blog or through ActBlue. Based on available information, the Blog did not appear to have made expenditures or received any contributions that would trigger political committee status. The Commission found no reason to believe any of the respondents violated the Act. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the
Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering
5698 under case numbers in the Enforcement Query System. They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington. |
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4. |
MUR 5792 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Christine Jennings for Congress, Susan K. Flynn, treasurer
(b) Christine L. Jennings
(c) Unknown Respondent |
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COMPLAINANT: |
Jennifer S. Cohen, Campaign Manager, Friends of Jan Schneider |
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SUBJECT: |
Excessive contribution |
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DISPOSITION: |
Dismiss the matter.
The complainant alleged that a supporter of Congressional candidate Christine Jennings made an excessive in-kind contribution when he paid $25,000 for Ms. Jennings to meet with former President Clinton at an event sponsored by the Democratic Party of Florida. The Jennings for Congress committee denied that any contribution was made on the candidate’s behalf. The Chair of the Democratic Party of Florida submitted an affidavit that Ms. Jennings was invited to meet with former President Clinton with no obligation of making a contribution. The Commission decided to exercise its prosecutorial discretion to dismiss the case. *
*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 and stale cases. Low rated cases are those that do no warrant use of the Commission’s resources to pursue because of their lower significance relative to other pending matters. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the
Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering
5792 under case numbers in the Enforcement Query System. They are also available in the FEC’s 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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