Week of August 13–August 17, 2018

Commission meetings and hearings

No executive sessions or open meetings 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 7270

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
• RESPONDENT: Comite Pierluisi, Inc. and Hector Del Rio Jimenez, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
• SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings and found reason to believe the Committee failed to refund $13,000 in excessive primary election contributions and $75,823.21 in general election contributions, resulting in the Committee accepting excessive contributions.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $15,000.

MUR 7295

• COMPLAINANT: Julie L. Ajster
• RESPONDENTS: Peru Federal Savings Bank (PFSB); Jonathan Brandt; Brian Towne; and Citizens for Towne State’s Attorney (the Committee)
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that PFSB made impermissible contributions to the Committee between 2007 and 2016 and that Brandt, Vice Chairman of PFSB, had directed the bank to make the contributions.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed the low dollar amount at issue.

MUR 7311

• COMPLAINANT: Gary R. Hardin
• RESPONDENTS: David Gevry for President 2020 and Christopher Savage, in his official capacity as treasurer, and David C. Gevry for President 2020 and Christopher Savage, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committees); and David Christopher Gevry
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Gevry and the Committees fraudulently used the complainant’s address on their Statements of Candidacy and Organization.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in consideration of Commission priorities. Commission staff removed the statements at issue from the Commission’s searchable database of campaign filings and placed them in the database of unverified filings.

MUR 7371

• COMPLAINANT: Matt Frendewey
• RESPONDENTS: Pensler for Senate and Justin Brown, in his official capacity as treasurer (Pensler Committee); Sandy Pensler; Brian Calley for Governor and Jordan Bush, in his official capacity as treasurer (Calley Committee); and Brian Calley
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Calley Committee gathered signatures for Pensler’s nominating petition, thus making an in-kind contribution. Pensler is a 2018 candidate for Michigan’s United States Senate seat.
• 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 both committees specifically denied that the Calley Committee had paid to gather signatures for the Pensler Committee and the Pensler Committee’s reports disclose disbursements to its own signature collection firm.

Litigation

McChesney, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 16-168) On August 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued an Opinion and Judgment.

Press Releases

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issues opinion in McChesney, et al. v. FEC (issued August 15)

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• August 28, 2018. The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• September 6, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• September 25, 2018: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• September 27, 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

• August 20: August Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2018 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Upcoming Educational Outreach

• On September 5, the Commission is scheduled to host a Pre-Election Communications webinar.

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. To order a printed copy, please contact the FEC’s Public Records Office at 800/424-9530 (option 2) or 202/694-1120, or send an email to pubrec@fec.gov.

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.