Week of May 29 – June 2, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

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

Advisory opinions

Drafts

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-01 (American Urological Association)

On June 1, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion Request 2017-01 (American Urological Association). The requestor asks whether it is no longer affiliated with the American Association of Clinical Urologists.

Advisory Opinion 2017-03 (American Association of Clinical Urologists, Inc. et al.) 

On June 1, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion 2017-03. Requestors ask whether the American Association of Clinical Urologists remains affiliated with the American Urological Association.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6803

• COMPLAINANT: Joe H. Beasley
  
• RESPONDENTS: Thomas Brown for Congress and George D.N. Coletti, in his official capacity as treasurer (formerly Citizens 4 Thomas Brown Exploratory) (Federal Committee); Thomas E. Brown Jr. Sheriff; Jackson Barksdale; and Courtesy Ford, Inc.
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee used $12,000 in non-federal funds from Brown’s state political committee to pay for polling that benefited the Federal Committee. The complaint alleged further that the Federal Committee filed its Statement of Organization in an untimely manner, that it accepted either a prohibited or excessive in-kind contribution in the form of advertisements on an electronic billboard at a car dealership, and that the advertisements lacked disclaimers. The complaint alleged various other disclaimer and reporting issues. Brown was a 2014 primary candidate for Georgia’s 4^th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities.
  

MUR 7023

• COMPLAINANT: Roskam for Congress
  
• RESPONDENTS: Kinzler for Congress and Raj P. Thakral, in his official capacity as treasurer (Kinzler Committee); Illinois Families First and Kristin Kolehouse, in her official capacity as treasurer (IFF); and Illinois Family Action (IFA)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that IFF, an independent expenditure-only political committee, and the Kinzler Committee each sponsored radio advertisements that failed to include proper disclaimers, that IFF failed to properly report its donors, independent expenditures, and certain shared office expenses, that IFF made and the Kinzler Committee received an impermissible in-kind contribution through an allegedly coordinated IFF radio ad, and that IFA made and the Kinzler Committee received an impermissible contribution through IFA’s tweeted link to a Kinzler Committee YouTube video. Gordon (Jay) Kinzler was a 2016 primary candidate for Illinois’s 6^th Congressional District.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegation that IFF and the Kinzler Committee included inadequate disclaimers in certain radio advertisements. The Commission observed that the three ads in question provided sufficient information to indicate that IFF and the Kinzler Committee had sponsored the radio advertisements at issue. The Commission found no reason to believe IFF failed to properly report its donors and independent expenditures because IFF properly reported its contributors in its 2016 April Quarterly Report and the independent expenditure at issue appeared to fall under the $1,000 threshold that would trigger a required 24-Hour independent expenditure report. The Commission dismissed the allegation that IFF failed to report operating expenses in consideration of Commission priorities, noting that IFF apparently engaged in only a modest amount of activity. Finally, the Commission found no reason to believe IFF made and the Kinzler Committee accepted impermissible in-kind contributions because there was insufficient information to establish that the conduct prong of the coordination regulations was met. The Commission closed the file in connection with the allegation relating to IFA.
  

MUR 7091

• COMPLAINANT: Senate Leadership Fund
  
• RESPONDENTS: Patrick Murphy; Friends of Patrick Murphy and Brian Foucart, in his official capacity as treasurer (Murphy Committee); Charlie Crist, Charlie Crist for U.S. Senate and Frederick Carroll, in his official capacity as treasurer (Crist Committee); Ibrahim Al-Rashid; Ramzi Al-Rashid; Morgan Budman; Steven Budman; Ellen Budman; Evan Orchinik; Aileen Orchinik; Millerlandy Badillo; Gene Earley; Barbara Earley; Bonnie Butler; and Brice Butler
  
• SUBJECT: The Complaint alleged that Ibrahim Al-Rashid used his then-wife, members of his family, and several other individuals to make conduit contributions to the Crist Committee in 2010 and the Murphy Committee in 2011.
  
• 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 in relation to the allegations outlined above because the statute of limitations has run on all of the activity at issue and the available record does not support an inference that Ibrahim Al-Rashid made the purported contributions in the names of the alleged conduits. The Commission dismissed the allegation that Murphy falsely reported the occupation and employer of a contributor. Crist was a 2010 candidate for Florida’s United States Senate seat. Murphy was a 2016 candidate for that seat.
  

MUR 7124

• COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust
  
• RESPONDENTS: Katie McGinty for Senate and Roberta Golden, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee) ; EMILY’s List and Ranny Cooper, in her official capacity as treasurer; WOMEN VOTE! and Leigh Warren in her official capacity as treasurer; and Majority Forward
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the multicandidate political committee EMILY’s List, the affiliated independent expenditure-only political committee (IEOPC) WOMEN VOTE!, and the nonprofit Majority Forward made and the Committee knowingly accepted excessive and prohibited contributions through coordinated television advertisements and the IEOPC’s and nonprofit’s republication of McGinty campaign materials in their ads. The complaint alleged further that these actions were not properly disclosed. McGinty was a 2016 candidate for Pennsylvania’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe WOMEN VOTE! and Majority Forward coordinated their communications with the Committee because the available information did not support a determination or reasonable inference that the conduct prong of the coordination test was met, and the Commission found that there was insufficient overlap between the communications at issue to conclude that the ads were republished campaign material.
  

MUR 7134

• COMPLAINANT: Melvin L. Stevens, Jr.
  
• RESPONDENT: Newt 2012 and Taylor O. Swindle, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee inaccurately disclosed debt owed to the complainant’s company in the Debt Settlement Plan the Committee filed with the Commission.
  
• DISPOSITION: In light of the Committee’s decision to report the debt at issue as disputed and the de minimis nature of the alleged reporting violation, the Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities.
  

MUR 7195

• COMPLAINANT: David Fennell
  
• RESPONDENTS: Nicholas Rice-Sanchez
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Democratic operatives paid Rice-Sanchez to pose as Sarah Palin’s Executive Director at a California county campaign office for Palin, a 2008 candidate for U.S. vice president, and John McCain, her presidential running mate, and that Rice-Sanchez and his associates embezzled funds from the McCain-Palin office and from an October 2008 fundraiser.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Rice-Sanchez violated the Act or Commission regulations because, to the extent that any of the allegations are within the Commission’s jurisdiction, they were speculative and most were beyond the five-year statute of limitations.
  

MUR 7234

• COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENT: Miami Association of Realtors (Miami Association)
  
• SUBJECT: The Miami Association and the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) notified the Commission that the Miami Association made $55,668.16 in corporate contributions to RPAC in the name of others by exchanging corporate funds for contributions.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Miami Association to pay a civil penalty of $9,000.
  

Alternative dispute resolution

The Commission made public two campaign finance enforcement matters that were resolved through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 818

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Kumar for Congress and Seymour Hundley, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee failed to file all financial transactions on its 2014 October Quarterly report and did not refund 2014 General Election contributions within the permissible timeframe following the candidate’s loss in the Primary Election.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to (1) develop and certify implementation of a compliance operations manual which includes internal controls consistent with the Commission’s Internal Controls and Political Committees advisory document and the Best Practices for Committee Management, as well as a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission, and (2) pay a civil penalty of $8,300.
  

ADR 819

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: National Right to Life Victory Fund and Wayne Cockfield, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee failed to file all financial activity on its 2016 July Quarterly report.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to distribute a memorandum to its reporting vendor mandating that documents shall be thoroughly reviewed and to pay a civil penalty of $3,200.
  

Litigation

• CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case 16-5300 & 16-5343). On May 31, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Mandate.
  
• Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:15-cv-01397-TSC). On May 26, Plaintiffs filed a Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the District Court for the District of Columbia.
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• June 6: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
  
• June 8: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting and executive session.
  
• Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.
  

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Upcoming educational programs

June 7: Candidate Committee Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

The Commission has posted the filing deadlines for the Special Primary and General Elections held in Utah’s 3^rd Congressional District. For information on reporting dates for this election, refer to the Special Election Report Notice.

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 latest edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available in the Public Records section of the 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 Record articles can be found here. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

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.