Week of April 26-30, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7243

COMPLAINANT: Free Speech for People
RESPONDENTS: 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee; Doug Ammerman, in his official capacity as Designated Officer; Sara Armstrong, in her official capacity as Chief Executive Officer; Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.; CITGO Petroleum Corporation; and CITGO Holding, Inc.
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that foreign nationals were involved in the decision by CITGO, a domestic subsidiary of a domestic holding company wholly owned by a foreign corporation, to donate $500,000 to the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee in December 2016, and that CITGO and its parent organizations made an impermissible donation from a foreign national. The complaint alleged further that the Inaugural Committee knowingly accepted a prohibited foreign national donation.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Vice Chair Allen Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor III issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7684

COMPLAINANT: Kelly S. Perine
RESPONDENT: Kate for Congress and Jay Petterson, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee distributed campaign signs, banners, and social media posts without required disclaimers stating that the Committee had paid for the items. Kate Schroder was a 2020 candidate for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission noted the visible disclaimers on the banners and signs at issue and the unlikeliness that the public was misled as to who paid for the signs and banners or was responsible for the social media posts.

MUR 7736

COMPLAINANT: William L. Hurlock
RESPONDENT: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that in 2016, a questionable donation was made in the complainant’s name to the Committee. Donald J. Trump was a 2016 candidate for U.S. President.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission noted the low dollar amount involved and the documentation provided by the Committee reflecting a solicitation mailer that had been signed and returned by the complainant.

MUR 7777

COMPLAINANT: Jack Clifford Lane
RESPONDENT: Friends of Andrew Yang and Zach Graumann, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to refund the complainant’s general election contributions after Yang, a 2020 presidential primary candidate, withdrew.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission noted the Committee’s apparent attempts to refund the complainant’s general election contributions.

Administrative Fines

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

AF 3790 Anthony Clark 2020 and Anthony Clark, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,893.

AF 3791 Citizens for Rush and Janet Szydelko, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,582.

AF 3792 Darren Duncan for Congress and Emily Duncan, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $10,901.

AF 3793 Our Everyday PAC and Robert Emmons, Jr., in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $682.

AF 3795 Sarah Gad 2020 and Benjamin Nawrocki, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a penalty of $5,813.

AF 3829 TFY PAC and Olubusola Obayan, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $850.

AF 3852 McCorkle for Colorado and Brian Keith Izzolena, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,437.

Audits

Final Audit Report of the Grassroots Victory PAC. On April 28, the Commission made public the Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Grassroots Victory PAC, covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. The Commission approved a finding related to increased activity (corrected).

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 20-2842) On April 29, the Commission filed an Answer to Plaintiffs’ Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On April 25, an op-ed written by Vice Chair Allen Dickerson was published in The Wall Street Journal.

On April 27, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub spoke via videoconference to students at Hunter College High School in New York City about campaign finance, the Constitution, and the work of the Commission.

On April 28, the Commission hosted a webinar for Trade Associations and their PACs.

Upcoming educational programs

May 12, 2021: The Commission will host a workshop for campaigns on registration and Forms 1 and 2.

May 26, 2021: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees.

August 17-18, 2021: The Commission will host a Regional Hybrid Conference in Denver, CO.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming Commission meetings

May 4 and 6, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 6, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

May 18, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

May 20, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming reporting due dates

May 20: May Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2021 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Status of agency operations

See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on April 15, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors.

Additional research materials

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

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

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.

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

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 currently. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.