Week of August 23-27, 2021

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Enforcement

The Commission made public 11 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 6992

COMPLAINANT: Right to Rise PAC, Inc.
RESPONDENTS: Donald J. Trump; Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Trump Committee); and The Trump Organization LLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that The Trump Organization LLC made prohibited in-kind contributions to support Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Trump Committee when Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten provided legal services to the campaign and executive vice president and special counsel Michael Cohen communicated with the press on behalf of the Trump Committee.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chair Shana M. Broussard and Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7125

COMPLAINANT: Timothy A. Canova
RESPONDENTS: Debbie Wasserman Schultz for Congress and Lawrence Wasserman, in his official capacity as treasurer; Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Democratic National Committee and Andrew Tobias, in his official capacity as treasurer (DNC); SKDKnickerbocker; Hilary Rosen; Raul Alvillar; Ryan Banfill; Dave Beattie; Garret Bonosky; Kay Brown; Kate Houghton; Ali Khan; April Mellody; Luis Miranda; Steven Paikowsky; Marc Paustenbach; Ed Peavy; and Tracie Pough
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Wasserman Schultz and the Committee impermissibly used DNC staff and resources to support her 2016 campaign for reelection to Florida’s 23rd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint. Chair Broussard and Commissioner Steven T. Walther, Vice Chair Allen Dickerson and Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor III, Commissioner Weintraub, and Commissioner Sean J. Cooksey issued Statements of Reasons.

MUR 7507

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENTS: Aftab Pureval; Aftab for Ohio and Evan Nolan, in his official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Friends of Aftab Pureval (County Clerk Committee); and Drenko Pureval
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Aftab Pureval may have spent up to $22,464.58 in nonfederal funds from the County Clerk Committee to pay for various polling and campaign expenses properly attributable to the Federal Committee during his 2018 campaign for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. The complaint further alleged that Pureval’s mother, Drenko Pureval, who had already made the maximum contribution to the Federal Committee, provided the County Clerk Committee with $30,000 immediately before it made the disbursements that allegedly assisted the Federal Committee.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Vice Chair Dickerson and Commissioners Cooksey and Trainor and Chair Broussard and Commissioner Weintraub issued Statements of Reasons.

MUR 7744

COMPLAINANT: James Arthur Gustafson
RESPONDENTS: Dennis Daneke; and Dennis Daneke for Senate and Dennis Daneke, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Daneke failed to register as a candidate, designate a principal campaign committee, and file disclosure reports, in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations, during his 2020 campaign for Montana’s United States Senate seat.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 7785

COMPLAINANT: Kalla D. Etheredge
RESPONDENT: Campaign to Elect James Averhart and James Averhart, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to file certain disclosure reports and omitted required information on disclosure reports filed with the Commission. Specifically, the complaint alleged the Committee failed to file a 12-Day Pre-Primary Report, failed to disclose employer or occupation information of contributors, failed to disclose the address of a vendor, and received a potential prohibited contribution. Averhart was a 2020 candidate for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.

MUR 7805

COMPLAINANT: Geno Lewis Difabio, Jr.
RESPONDENTS: Tim Ryan for Congress and Allen Ryan, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Tim Ryan; and Michele Lepore-Hagan for State Representative and Treasurer
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the respondents posted an ad on YouTube and Twitter that lacked a disclaimer identifying who paid for or authorized the ad. The complaint further asserted that Michele Lepore-Hagan, a candidate for Ohio state representative, or her committee failed to register with the Commission as a federal committee after it raised or spent over $1,000 on the ad. Ryan was a 2020 candidate for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 7851

COMPLAINANT: Republican Party of Wisconsin
RESPONDENT: Jessica King for Wisconsin and Jessica King, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to correctly report contributions, expenditures, and cash-on-hand in its 2020 reports. Specifically, the complaint alleged 1) a $62,607.50 cash-on-hand discrepancy between the Committee’s 2020 Pre-Primary Report and its 2020 October Quarterly Report; 2) a $491.06 cash-on-hand discrepancy between the Committee’s 2020 October Quarterly Report and its 2020 Pre-General Report; and 3) discrepancies in the closing cash-on-hand balance in the Committee’s 2020 April, July, and October Quarterly Reports.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

MUR 7855

COMPLAINANT: Jamie Montgomery Consulting LLC
RESPONDENT: Becchi for Congress and David Steiner, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee should have reported $6,185 in outstanding debt owed to Jamie Montgomery Consulting LLC (JMC) on the Committee's 2020 October Quarterly Report. The complaint claimed the Committee hired JMC for fundraising from July 2019 through May 31, 2020, and that the amount owed was not paid.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.

MUR 7857

COMPLAINANT: Colleen M. Moulton
RESPONDENTS: Oonagh McQuarrie; Fair Fight and Camille Johnson, in her official capacity as treasurer (Fair Fight)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that McQuarrie, a purported foreign national, made a contribution to Fair Fight and, in a social media post, encouraged others to make contributions.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that McQuarrie or Fair Fight violated the Act by making or receiving a contribution from a foreign national because the available information indicated that McQuarrie is a permanent resident of the United States, making it permissible to make contributions.

MUR 7877

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENTS: Tennessee Democratic Party and Carol V. Abney, in her official capacity as treasurer (TDP)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that TDP 1) failed to disclose receipts and disbursements totaling $2,739,911 on its original 2016 election cycle reports, 2) failed to disclose receipts and disbursements totaling $295,804 on its amended 2016 election cycle reports, 3) failed to properly itemize $1,509,766 in contributions, and 4) failed to maintain monthly payroll logs as required by Commission regulations.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for TDP to require appropriate personnel to attend a Commission-sponsored training program for state and local party committees and to pay a civil penalty of $103,000. Commissioner Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7906

COMPLAINANT: Laura A. Wigley
RESPONDENTS: Charles W. Herbster; Herbster Angus Farms, Inc.; and Conklin Company, Inc.
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that in July 2016, Herbster Angus Farms, Inc. and/or Conklin Company, Inc. spent over $9,000 for a magazine advertisement advocating the election of Trump for U.S. President, featuring a photo of Trump with Charles Herbster, the owner and CEO of the two corporations. The complaint alleged that 1) the ad was paid for by one or both corporations and was an independent expenditure triggering political committee status, 2) the corporations failed to register and file disclosure reports with the FEC, and 3) the corporations failed to comply with the disclaimer requirements for the ad.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public 39 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine search system.

AF 3861 Adrienne Bell for Congress and Mimi Montgomery, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,124.

AF 3862 Albors para Comisionado and Ignacio Fernandez, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $168.

AF 3864 American Pro-Israel PAC and Jeanne Sullivan, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3865 Amsted Industries Incorporated PAC and Tristan Paige Lopez, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $696.

AF 3868 Bobby for Iowa and Nancy Snyder, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,994.

AF 3869 Bronx United and Rush Perez, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,805.

AF 3870 Campaign to Support the President and Matt Tunstall, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $696.

AF 3871 Committee to Elect HP and Dounia Metouri, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $16,640.

AF 3872 Committee to Elect Mauro Garza for US Congress and Ms. Iris Elizabeth Castillo, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $265.

AF 3873 Covert for Congress and Joseph Iaco, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $696.

AF 3874 Dr Jay for Congress, Inc. and James C. Thomas, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $347.

AF 3875 Emily Robinson for Congress and Emily Robinson, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $6,656.

AF 3876 Eugene Yu for Congress and Eric Yu, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3877 FOAM Friends of Andrew Meehan and Sherri Underland, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $347.

AF 3879 George Mitris for Congress and Thomas Costa, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $827.

AF 3880 Georgians for Ted Terry and Kendra-Sue Derby, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $696.

AF 3881 Hometown Values PAC and Francis Xavier Helgesen, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $687.

AF 3882 Howard Steele for Congress and Andrea Lester, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,994.

AF 3884 Iowa Medical Society Political Action Committee and John B. Dooley, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $156.

AF 3886 Jimmy Rodriguez for Congress and Jimmy Rodriguez, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $14,791.

AF 3887 Jineea for Congress and Anita Meador, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $8,135.

AF 3888 John Eaves for Congress and John Henry Eaves, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,252.

AF 3889 Jonathan Jenkins for Senate Committee and the Office of Treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $31,059.

AF 3890 Kina for Congress and Kina Collins, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $417.

AF 3891 Lake for Congress and Constance Saylease Prater-Baker, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,878.

AF 3892 Mason for Minnesota and Nicholas Leonard Mason, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $153.

AF 3893 New Nation Rising and Olufemi Ogunnaike, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $607.

AF 3894 Pony Up for Vermin Supreme and Clayton Hunt, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $743.

AF 3895 Robert Deming for Congress and Robert Deming, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3896 Sarah Gad 2020 and Benjamin Nawrocki, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $5,176.

AF 3897 Shaniyat Chowdhury for Congress and Shaniyat Chowdhury, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,551.

AF 3898 Stephanie Rimmer for Congress and Jeffrey Stanlis, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $547.

AF 3899 Steve Schiffman for Congress 2020 and Mr. Larry Earl Garner, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3900 Support American Leaders PAC and Matthew Nelson Tunstall, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $14,050.

AF 3901 The People for Rush Darwish and Bentley Patterson, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $11,832.

AF 3902 TTX PAC and Patrick B. Loftus, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $238.

AF 3903 Tucker for Congress and Shiva Kalipersad, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,018.

AF 3906 Wes Lambert for Congress and Douglas Wesley Lambert III, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3907 Women Vote Smart and Amy S. Kremer, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $6,656.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case No. 20-0809) On August 24, the Institute for Free Speech filed a Brief of Amicus Curiae in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. (Case No. 21-12) On August 25, the Office of the Solicitor General filed a Brief for the Federal Election Commission in Opposition to Motion of Appellees to Affirm or Dismiss in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Outreach

On August 26, Commissioner Trainor spoke to the Arlington Republican Party of Texas on campaign finance law.

Upcoming educational programs

September 29, 2021: The Commission will host reporting and FECFile webinars to help federal candidates and their campaign committees prepare to file their October 15 Quarterly Reports.

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

Upcoming Commission meetings

August 31 and September 2, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

September 2, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

September 14, 2021: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

Upcoming reporting due dates

September 20: September 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. See also the agency’s Workplace Safety Plan, dated May 6, 2021.

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.