Week of April 16 - April 20, 2018

Commission meetings and hearings

• The Executive Session called for April 19 was cancelled.

Advisory Opinions     

Comment Received

• Advisory Opinion Request 2018-06 (Shirley). On April 18, the Commission made public a comment on the request.
  

Litigation

• Committee to Defend the President v. FEC (Case No. 18-cv-00888). On April 16, the Plaintiff filed a Complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• Holmes, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 17-1297). On April 13, the Institute for Justice filed a Brief of Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners in the United States Supreme Court.
• Nguyen v. FEC (Case No. 17-mc-01048). On April 16, the Plaintiff filed a Motion to Withdraw in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  

Enforcement

The Commission made public three closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7131

• COMPLAINANT: Brian T. Griset
  
• RESPONDENTS: Carol Shea-Porter; Carol Shea-Porter for Congress and Mary DiModika-Kulju, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Susan D. Mayer; ActBlue and Erin Hill, in her official capacity as treasurer (ActBlue); Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Kelly Ward, in her official capacity as treasurer (DCCC); Kaufman Legal Group (Kaufman); National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare PAC and Christine Kim, in her official capacity as treasurer (NCP-PAC); NGP VAN, Inc. (NGP VAN); Senior Votes Count and Tony Fazio, in his official capacity as treasurer (SVC)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Rep. Shea-Porter and the Committee coordinated with Mayer, a Shea-Porter congressional staffer, and SVC, a non-connected committee, regarding a $3,110 contribution that Mayer made to SVC and that purportedly was used to make undisclosed independent expenditures supporting Shea-Porter shortly before the 2014 general election. The complaint alleged further that SVC failed to disclose Mayer’s occupation, and that ActBlue, through which Mayer made her contribution to SVC, may not be forwarding accurate employment information. The complaint also alleged that Kaufman made an in-kind contribution to SVC by forgiving a debt for legal fees, that the DCCC coordinated on expenditures in Shea-Porter’s district, and NCP-PAC coordinated its actions with SVC to support Shea-Porter. A supplement to the complaint alleged that NGP Van credited services to SVC and the Committee, resulting in in-kind contributions. Shea-Porter was a 2014 candidate for reelection in New Hampshire’s 1^st Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations that SVC, a non-connected political committee,  failed to (1) timely file a 24-Hour Independent Expenditure Report, (2) disclose independent expenditures on its 2014 Post-General Report, and (3) report accurate employer information for a contribution. The Commission sent a letter of caution to the SVC regarding the reporting of independent expenditures and accurate employer information for contributors. The Commission found no reason to believe SVC or Mayer made or Shea-Porter and the Committee accepted an excessive contribution, or that the Committee failed to report an excessive contribution from SVC or Mayer, because the activity at issue did not satisfy any of the conduct standards for coordination concerning the radio ads.  The Commission observed that ActBlue accurately reported the occupation and employer information concerning the contributor in question on its own reports, and that SVC’s incorrect disclosure at issue relates to one contributor who gave less than the statutory limit. The Commission sent a letter cautioning ActBlue about its reporting obligations. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegation that Kaufman made, and SVC accepted and failed to report, prohibited in-kind contributions in the form of debts not paid. The Commission observed that the low dollar amount and potentially exempt activity at issue did not warrant further use of Commission time and resources. The Commission found no reason to believe NGP VAN, a software vendor, made and SVC received prohibited contributions through credits based on billing errors. The Commission found no reason to believe the DCCC coordinated an expenditure on an ad with SVC because the expenditure in question concerned shipping costs for the DCCC’s own advertisement in that congressional election.  Finally, the Commission found no reason to believe NCP-PAC coordinated with SVC because the alleged relationships between the two organizations, without more, do not indicate any in-kind contribution.
  

MUR 7151

• COMPLAINANT: Democratic National Committee
  
• RESPONDENTS: Great America PAC and Dan Backer, in his official capacity as treasurer (GAP); Rudolph W. Giuliani; Donald J. Trump; and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (Trump Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that GAP, an independent expenditure-only political committee, coordinated communications with the Trump Committee -- resulting in prohibited in-kind contributions -- when GAP produced an ad featuring Giuliani expressly advocating for Trump’s election in 2016.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file.
  

MUR 7083

• COMPLAINANT: Daniel John Tarkanian
  
• RESPONDENT: Ending Spending, Inc. and Nancy Watkins, in her official capacity as treasurer (ESI)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that ESI failed to disclose contributions it received for almost $1.6 million in independent expenditures. 
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe ESI failed to disclose contributions for the purpose of furthering a particular communication. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegation as to whether ESI had not fulfilled additional reporting obligations for certain contributions made for the purpose of influencing a federal election generally.
  

Alternative dispute resolution

The Commission made public four closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 848

• COMPLAINANT: Federal Election Commission
  
• RESPONDENT: Right to Rise USA and Charles R. Spies, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee failed to timely file one 48-Hour Report totaling $41,745.17 to support 50 independent expenditures disclosed on the 2015 Year-End Report.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in an FEC conference, webinar or other program developed in consultation with the Commission’s Information Division and to pay a civil penalty of $2,100.
  

 ADRs 849 and 856

• COMPLAINANT: Federal Election Commission
  
• RESPONDENT: The Committee to Defend the President (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee made reporting errors including mathematical discrepancies, failure to provide supporting schedules, failure to properly itemize disbursements, and independent expenditure reporting problems. The Committee also failed to disclose all financial activity on its 2015 Year-End Report; it subsequently filed an amended report disclosing additional disbursements of $163,732.16.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to amend relevant 2015 and 2016 reports to address any inadequate responses and nonresponses to Requests for Additional Information and to pay a civil penalty of $3,700.
  

 ADR 850

• COMPLAINANT: Federal Election Commission
  
• RESPONDENT: The Loose Group and John E. Whelchel, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee failed to disclose all financial activity on its 2016 12-Day Pre-General Report. The Committee subsequently filed an amended report disclosing additional disbursements totaling $83,000.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative participated in a Commission conference, webinar or other program developed in consultation with the Commission’s Information Division and to pay a civil penalty of $3,800.
  

Rulemaking and agency procedures

Petition for rulemaking; notification of availability

• On April 20, the Commission published Federal Register Notice 2018-07, correcting errors in the Address and Supplementary Information captions of the previously published “Rulemaking Petition: Former Candidates’ Personal Use.”
  

Commissioners’ statements

• On April 19, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement Regarding CREW v. FEC and American Action Network.
  

Public disclosure

On April 16, the Office of Inspector General made public its Review of Outstanding Recommendations as of March 2018.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• April 24, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• April 26, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• April 20: April Monthly Reports are due.
  
• May 20: May Monthly Reports are due.
  

 For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2018 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Upcoming educational programs

• On April 25, the Commission will host a webinar for treasurers, staff members, consultants, and others looking to understand federal rules related to political party committees.

Additional information is available on the educational outreach page of the Commission website.

Additional research materials

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

Printed copies of the 2018 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are now available. Contact the Commission's Information Division at (202) 694-1100 or (800) 424-9530 (press 6, when prompted) to order printed copies of the CFR at no charge. You may also email the Information Division to place an order at info@fec.gov.

The 2017 Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations is available. Other Campaign Guides are available, as well.

The 2018 Congressional Primary Election Dates list is available.

Federal Elections 2016: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

The 2017 edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.

The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube

Follow @FEC on Twitter to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms at this time. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other mediums has not been authorized by the FEC.