Week of August 28 - September 1, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

The Commission made public 12 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MURs 7005 and 7056

• COMPLAINANT: Tyler Erdman
  
• RESPONDENTS: Adam H. Victor; TransGas Development Systems, LLC (TGDS); Gas Alternative Systems, Inc.; Project Orange Associates LLC; Adam Victor & Son LLC; Adam Victor Grantor Trust; Marta Dani (formerly Marta Grabowska); Nana Yoshioka; Randall Harris; Garry Coulter; Noel Daley; Michael C.J. Vanderkemp; Jo-Ann Bruggemann; Adam Victor, Jr.; Alexia Victor; Alicia Victor; Jo-Ayla Victor; TransNational Management Services, LLC (TNMS); TransNational Management Services II, LLC; Herman Cain; Friends of Herman Cain and Mark J. Block, in his official capacity as treasurer; Roberto Larrinaga; Pegasus Elite Aviation, Inc.; and USA Risk Intermediaries LLC
  
• SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that Adam Victor or businesses that he owns or controls made $63,000 in contributions in the names of employees, business associates, and members of Adam Victor's family to two candidate committees, Manchin for West Virginia and Friends of Herman Cain. One of the complaints alleged further that Adam Victor and other businesses made an in-kind contribution to Cain and Friends of Herman Cain by leasing them a jet at a below-market price.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe Adam Victor and TGDS made excessive contributions and contributions in the name of another, and agreed to enter into a conciliation agreement providing for Adam Victor and TGDS to pay a civil penalty of $65,000. The Commission dismissed the allegations with respect to respondents who were conduits of the contributions in the name of another, as the available information indicated they had participated in the illegal activity at the direction of Adam Victor and the record does not suggest that they recruited others into the scheme or that they served as elected officials, which have been factors in other matters in which the Commission did pursue conduits. The Commission found no reason to believe that other respondents, which include business associates of Victor and various Victor-controlled entities, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The Commission found no reason to believe Adam Victor or his companies, Pegasus Elite Aviation, Inc., Cain or Friends of Herman Cain made or accepted an excessive or prohibited contribution in connection with the leased jet because of sworn, expert information before the Commission that the Cain Committee had paid at least fair market rates for use of the plane. The Commission found no reason to believe TNMS committed a violation because it does not appear to have been involved in the airplane leasing at issue.
  

MUR 7164

• COMPLAINANT: Julie Hamm
  
• RESPONDENTS: Alaska Republican Party and Julie Tisdale, in her official capacity as treasurer, and Tuckerman Babcock (collectively the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to timely file a Statement of Organization naming the current treasurer and filing reports with the former treasurer’s name. The complaint alleged further that Tisdale failed to accurately disclose cash on hand held by the Committee’s Victory Fund in two monthly disclosure reports, and that the Committee failed to include a proper disclaimer on a mailer.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that the Committee took corrective action.
  

MURs 7218, 7224, 7231, 7236, 7237, 7238, 7239, 7240, and 7241

• COMPLAINANT: Kerry D. Bowers
  
• RESPONDENTS: The New York Times Company, Nick Corasaniti and Patrick Healy; News Corp (d.b.a. The Wall Street Journal) and Janet Hook; Cable News Network (CNN), Ashley Killough and Jeremy Diamond; Time, Inc. and Ryan Teague Beckwith; Thomson Reuters Corporation (d.b.a. Reuters), Yahoo! News a product of Yahoo! Inc., James C. Smith, and Marissa Mayer; Gannett Co., Inc. (d.b.a. USA TODAY), Catalina Camia and David Jackson; The Washington Post, Philip Bump and Frederick J. Ryan; Newsweek Media Group, Inc. and James M. Lindsay; and Comcast Corporation, NBC UNIVERSAL MEDIA, LLC, Andrew Rafferty, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann.
  
• SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that the respondents made in-kind contributions to the campaign of Senator Ted Cruz, a 2016 primary candidate for United States President, by characterizing Cruz as the first Republican candidate when reporting on Cruz’s announcement of his candidacy.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the respondents violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), or Commission regulations because the respondents’ activities addressed in these matters fell within the media exemption.

Litigation

• Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:15-cv-01397-TSC). On August 25, the Commission filed its Answer to Plaintiffs’Amended Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the District Court for the District of Columbia.
  
• Nguyen v. FEC (Case 1:17-mc-01048-RBW). On April 25, Tu Nguyen filed a Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On August 30, the Commission filed its Motion to Dismiss the Complaint.
  
• Takala v. FEC (Case 1:17-cv-01715-BAH). On August 23, Rudy Takala filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  

Educational programs

On August 30-31, the Commission hosted a Regional Conference for candidates, parties and separate segregated funds in Chicago, Illinois. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• September 12: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• September 14: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and executive session.
• September 14: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open audit hearing on Freedom's Defense Fund and the Conservative Majority Fund.
• Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

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.

Upcoming educational programs

November 14-15: Washington, DC Regional Conference for candidates, parties and separate segregated funds. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

September 20: September Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Additional research materials

The Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results are available in the Library section of the website. This listing was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

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

The 2017 edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available on the new Commission website. 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.

The 2017 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations can be downloaded from the website. To order printed copies, call (800) 424-9530 (press 6) or send an email to info@fec.gov.