Week of March 21-25, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On March 22 and 24, the Commission met in executive session.

On March 24, the Commission held an open meeting.

Enforcement

The Commission made public 16 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7368

COMPLAINANT: Public Integrity Alliance
RESPONDENTS: Postcards to Voters, LLC (PTV); Hiral for Congress and Katherine A. Jacklin, in her official capacity as treasurer (Hiral for Congress); Hiral Tipirneni; Right Side of History PAC, f/k/a Doug Jones for Senate, and J. Douglas Turner, Jr. in his official capacity as treasurer; and Conor Lamb for Senate, f/k/a Conor Lamb for Congress, and DJ Ryan, in his official capacity as treasurer
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that PTV made excessive or prohibited in-kind contributions to Hiral for Congress, Tipirneni and other candidates in connection with get-out- the-vote postcards crafted by diffuse sets of volunteers. The complaint alleged further that PTV failed to register and report as a political committee and that PTV failed to include disclaimers on the postcards. Finally, the complaints alleged that various federal candidates and committees accepted excessive or prohibited contributions from PTV and failed to report them. Tipirneni, Lamb and Jones were 2017 and 2018 special election candidates for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, and Alabama’s United States Senate seat, respectively.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations. The Commission observed that the value of potential donations to PTV was minimal, and it was unclear how much was spent on federal activities.

MURs 7575, 7580, 7592 and 7626

COMPLAINANTS: National Legal and Policy Center; Sheila Oxsher; Coolidge-Reagan Foundation; and Michelle Clay
RESPONDENTS: Brand New Congress and Hosseh Enad, in his official capacity as treasurer (Brand New Congress); Justice Democrats PAC and Natalie Trent, in her official capacity as treasurer (Justice Democrats); Brand New Congress, LLC (f/k/a Brand New Campaign, LLC); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Saikat Chakrabarti; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress and Frank Llewellyn, in his official capacity as treasurer (Ocasio-Cortez Committee); Adrienne Bell 2018 and Andret Rayford, in her official capacity as treasurer (Bell Committee); Anthony Clark 2018 (terminated) and Anthony Clark, in his official capacity as treasurer (Clark Committee); Chardo Richardson for Congress (terminated) and Chardo Richardson, in his official capacity as treasurer (Richardson Committee); Committee to Elect Ryan Stone (terminated) and Ryan Stone, in his official capacity as treasurer (Stone Committee); Cori Bush for Congress and Amy Vilela, in her official capacity as treasurer (Bush Committee); Hector Morales for Congress (terminated) and Hector Morales, in his official capacity as treasurer (Morales Committee); Hepburn for Congress (terminated) and Michael Hepburn, in his official capacity as treasurer (Hepburn Committee); Letitia Plummer 2018 and Letitia Plummer, in her official capacity as treasurer (Plummer Committee); Paula Swearengin 2018 and Paula Swearengin, in her official capacity as treasurer (Swearingen Committee); Perry for Pennsylvania (terminated) and Paul-David Perry, II, in his official capacity as treasurer (Perry Committee); Robert Ryerse 2018 and Robert Ryerse, in his official capacity as treasurer (Ryerse Committee); Sarah Smith 2018 and Andy Lo, in his official capacity as treasurer (Smith Committee); Arden Buck; Kamilka Malwatte; and Natalie Elsberg
SUBJECT: The complaints alleged various violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations, including that Brand New Congress, Justice Democrats, Brand New Congress, LLC, and Chakrabarti, made excessive in-kind contributions to the principal campaign committees of 13 candidates recruited by Brand New Congress, LLC, on behalf of Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats. The complaints also alleged that Brand New Congress, Justice Democrats and the 13 candidate committees failed to include sufficient descriptions showing the purposes for, and misreporting the payee of, disbursements to Brand New Congress, LLC. The complaint in MUR 7592 also alleged that Buck, Malwatte, and Elsberg made, and that the Ocasio-Cortez Committee and Justice Democrats knowingly accepted, excessive contributions.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations that the Ocasio-Cortez Committee, Bell Committee, Clark Committee, Richardson Committee, Stone Committee, Morales Committee, Hepburn Committee, Plummer Committee, Perry Committee, Ryerse Committee, and Smith Committee failed to include sufficient descriptions showing the purposes for, and misreporting the payee of, disbursements to Brand New Congress, LLC. The Commission also dismissed the allegations that Buck, Malwatte, and Elsberg made, and the Ocasio-Cortez Committee and Justice Democrats knowingly accepted, excessive contributions. The Commission observed the limited nature of those excessive contributions and their subsequent reimbursements by the committees. The Commission closed the file in connection with the remaining allegations. Chairman Allen Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7646

COMPLAINANT: Maine Democratic Party
RESPONDENTS: 1820 PAC and Thomas Datwyler, in his official capacity as treasurer (1820 PAC); Collins for Senator and Elizabeth McCandless, in her official capacity as treasurer; and Susan Collins
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that 1820 PAC, an independent expenditure-only committee, made a prohibited in-kind contribution to the Committee by republishing the Committee’s footage of Collins, a 2018 candidate for Maine’s United States Senate seat. The complaint further alleged that Collins and the Committee may have coordinated with respect to the ad and thus knowingly accepted a prohibited in-kind contribution.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7649

COMPLAINANT: Sean Dougherty, Treasurer, Augustus Invictus for President Inc.
RESPONDENT: PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PayPal)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that PayPal violated the Act and Commission regulations when it shut down the PayPal account of Augustus Invictus for President Inc. (the Committee), which the Committee had used as a payment processor for contributions. The complaint alleged that by terminating the Committee’s account, but not those of other presidential candidates, PayPal made prohibited in-kind corporate contributions to every other candidate for President whose PayPal account was not terminated.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that PayPal’s actions constituted corporate contributions because they appeared to reflect commercial considerations rather than an effort to influence a federal election.

MUR 7657

COMPLAINANTS: Campaign Legal Center and Margaret Christ
RESPONDENTS: IRL PAC and Ed Torgas, in his official capacity as treasurer (terminated) (IRL PAC); South Florida First PAC (f/k/a Ros-Lehtinen for Congress) and Antonio Argiz, in his official capacity as treasurer (terminated); and Illeana Ros-Lehtinen
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Ros-Lehtinen made impermissible personal use of funds contributed to her principal campaign committee and later transferred to her leadership PAC, IRL PAC.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chairman Dickerson and Commissioners Cooksey and Trainor and Vice Chair Steven T. Walther and Commissioners Shana M. Broussard and Weintraub issued Statements of Reasons.

MURs 7666 and 7675

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENTS: Peters for Michigan and Geraldine Buckles, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Gary Peters; VoteVets.org Action Fund (VoteVets); and Majority Forward
SUBJECT: The complaints in these matters alleged that VoteVets and Majority Forward, both 501(c)(4) non-profit entities, made prohibited in-kind contributions to the Committee and Peters, a 2020 candidate for Michigan’s United States Senate seat. The complaints specifically alleged that VoteVets and Majority Forward paid to distribute ads that republished campaign materials, which the Committee had previously published on a subpage of its website. The complaints also alleged that the Committee coordinated with VoteVets and Majority Forward in connection with the ads, and thus accepted the prohibited in-kind contributions.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Commissioner Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MURs 7681 and 7715

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENTS: VoteVets and Rick Hegdahl, in his official capacity as treasurer; VoteVets Action Fund; Cal for NC and Steve Mele, in his official capacity as treasurer (Cal for NC); Cal Cunningham; MJ for Texas and Adam Reiser, in his official capacity as treasurer (MJ for Texas); and Mary Jennings Hegar
SUBJECT: The Complaints alleged that VoteVets Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, and VoteVets, a multicandidate, hybrid political action committee (VoteVets PAC), made prohibited in-kind contributions to Cal for NC and MJ for Texas by paying to distribute television advertisements that republished campaign materials. The complaints alleged further that the candidates and their committees coordinated with VoteVets Action Fund and VoteVets PAC in connection with the television ads and thus accepted the prohibited in-kind contributions. Cunningham and Hegar were 2020 candidates for the United States Senate seats in North Carolina and Texas, respectively.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Commissioner Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7687

COMPLAINANT: Charles Spies
RESPONDENT: Twitter, Inc. (Twitter)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Twitter made prohibited in-kind contributions when it banned Laura Loomer, a 2020 candidate for Florida’s 21st Congressional District, from its social media platform, thereby supporting Loomer’s political opponents.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that Twitter violated the Act because the available information indicated that: 1) Loomer’s removal from the social media platform occurred eight months prior to the announcement of her candidacy, and 2) Twitter’s actions reflected a business decision based on the user’s violation of the company’s Rules and Terms of Service rather than an effort to influence a federal election.

MUR 7781

COMPLAINANT: Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENT: Fight for the American Dream PAC and Megan Troy, in her official capacity as treasurer (FFAD PAC)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that FFAD PAC, an independent expenditure-only political committee, made prohibited in-kind contributions to Mondaire for Congress, the authorized committee of Mondaire Jones, a 2020 candidate for New York’s 17th Congressional District, by republishing campaign materials in social media video advertisements.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Commissioner Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7829

COMPLAINANT: Matthew Rafat
RESPONDENTS: Twitter, Inc.
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Twitter, Inc. made a prohibited in-kind corporate contribution to the 2020 presidential campaigns of Joseph Biden and Donald Trump when it locked the complainant’s Twitter account. The complaint alleged that Rafat’s account was locked because he was promoting the attempts of any minor party to gain at least five percent of the national vote.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that the respondent violated the Act as the available information suggested that Twitter, Inc. acted in accordance with its widespread efforts to combat malicious activity as part of its bona fide commercial interests, and did not engage in any activities for the purpose of influencing a federal election or coordinated with any candidate or committee.

MUR 7834

COMPLAINANT: William Gheen, President of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALI PAC)
RESPONDENTS: Facebook, Inc.; Google LLC; and Twitter, Inc.
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the respondents violated the Act and Commission regulations when it made prohibited in-kind corporate contributions to the presidential campaign of Joseph Biden, the Democratic Party, and other unspecified Democratic Party candidates when they removed content posted by the social media accounts of ALI PAC and others who shared their political philosophies.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that the respondents violated the Act as the available information suggested that the respondents’ conduct was motivated by bona fide commercial reasons and was not coordinated.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public 11 closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine search system.

AF 3867 Bentivolio for Congress and Kerry Bentivolio, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $519.

AF 3885 Jill Stein for President and James Lane, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,110.

AF 3912 Bentivolio for Congress and Kerry Bentivolio, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,252.

AF 3957 Bentivolio for Congress and Kerry Bentivolio, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,252.

AF 3981 Jill Stein for President and James Lane, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $765.

AF 4221 Casey Askar for Congress and Robert Phillips, III, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $21,433.

AF 4238 Environmental Defense Action Fund PAC (EDAF PAC) and William O’Brien, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $124.

AF 4239 Victory Now PAC and Janica Kyriacopoulos, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,504.

AF 4245 Bob Hamilton for Kansas Inc. and Robert Phillips, III, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $25,151.

AF 4247 Friends of Michael Guest and Paul V. Breazeale, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $3,181.

AF 4262 Lacy Johnson for Congress and Lacy Johnson, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,175.

Regulations and agency procedures

REG 2012-01 (Electioneering Communications Reporting) - Draft Notice of Disposition On March 21, the Commission approved by tally vote a Notice of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking by the Center for Individual Freedom. The Commission decided not to initiate a rulemaking in response to the petition, which asked that the Commission revise two regulations on the reporting of electioneering communications, because the regulatory changes sought have already been implemented in a separate rulemaking.

REG 2015-04 (Citizens United II) - Draft Notice of Disposition On March 24, the Commission approved a Notice of Disposition of two Petitions for Rulemaking by Makes Your Laws PAC, Inc. and Make Your Laws Advocacy, Inc. and Craig Holman and Public Citizen. The Petitions asked the Commission to revise existing regulations and issue new regulations concerning: (1) disclosure of certain financing information regarding independent expenditures and electioneering communications; (2) election-related spending by foreign nationals; (3) solicitations of corporate and labor organization employees and members; and (4) the independence of expenditures made by independent-expenditure-only political committees and accounts. Because there were not four affirmative votes in support of the Petitions, the Commission is not initiating a rulemaking.

REG 2014-09 (Federal Contractors) - Draft Notice of Disposition On March 24, the Commission approved a Notice of Disposition of a Petition for Rulemaking by Public Citizen, which asked that the Commission amend its regulations regarding federal contractors to include certain factors for determining whether entities of the same corporate family are distinct business entities for purposes of the prohibition on contributions by federal contractors. Because there were not four affirmative votes in support of the petition, the Commission is not initiating a rulemaking.

Litigation

Castro v. FEC (Case No. 22-369) On February 11, Plaintiff filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Wisconsin Family Action v. FEC (Case No. 21-1373) On March 22, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin issued a Decision and Order denying Plaintiff’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

FEC v. Rivera (Case No. 17-22643) On March 24, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an Order Denying Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction.

Commissioner Statements

On March 24, Chairman Allen J. Dickerson issued an Interpretive Statement on republication of campaign materials.

On March 24, Commissioner Broussard issued a Statement Regarding Petitions for Rulemaking.

Outreach

On March 23, the Commission hosted a webinar for candidate committees.

On March 24-26, Commissioner Sean J. Cooksey spoke at the 2022 Senate Republican Chief-of-Staff & Committee Directors Retreat in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Press releases

FEC approves three Notices of Disposition on petitions for rulemakings (issued March 24)

Upcoming Commission meetings

April 5 and 7, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

April 7, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

April 26 and 28, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

April 28, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

March 30, 2022: The Commission will host FECFile webinars for candidates, PACs, and party committees.

April 6, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for political party committees.

April 20, 2022: The Commission will host an FECConnect OnTopic session on Filing 48-Hour Notices for Last-Minute Contributions and Loans.

May 11, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

May 18, 2022: The Commission will host an FECConnect OnTopic session on responding to Requests for Additional Information (RFAIs) from the Commission’s Reports Analysis Division (RAD).

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission recently updated its Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2014 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and their campaign committees. Printed versions of the Guide are now available for order from the Commission’s Information Division.

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 Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

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