Week of May 5 – 9, 2025
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 Search System.
COMPLAINANT: Michael Henry
RESPONDENTS: Pekau for Congress and Cynthia Katsenes, in her official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Keith Pekau; Keith for Mayor (Mayoral Committee); People Over Politics; Cynthia Nelson Katsenes; Michael Milani; Sean Kampas; and Joni Radazewski
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Mayoral Committee, Keith Pekau’s state committee, made a prohibited and excessive in-kind contribution to the Federal Committee by transferring a Facebook account and its followers. The complaint further alleged that Pekau and certain Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, Illinois (Katsenes, Milani, Kampas, and Radazewski), solicited city contractors to participate in a golf fundraiser for the Federal Committee, resulting in the impermissible solicitation and receipt of corporate in-kind contributions. The complaint also alleged that People Over Politics, a local political committee registered in the state of Illinois, should have registered and reported as a federal political committee because the Federal Committee used the phrase “People Over Politics” on its website and public communications, which the complaint alleged resulted in an in-kind contribution from People Over Politics to the Federal Committee. Pekau was a 2022 candidate for the Sixth Congressional District of Illinois.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
COMPLAINANT: Susan Tate
RESPONDENTS: Joanna Weiss for Congress and Joanna Weiss, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Women for American Values and Ethics Political Action Committee and Terri Shams, in her official capacity as treasurer (WAVE PAC); and Joanna Weiss
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Joanna Weiss, a 2024 candidate for California’s 47th Congressional District, and the Committee knowingly accepted excessive in-kind contributions from WAVE PAC, a hybrid PAC with a non-contribution account, which Weiss founded and where she formerly served as Director and President, and that the Committee and WAVE PAC failed to disclose those contributions. Specifically, the complaint alleged that Weiss sent an email to the WAVE PAC member list announcing her candidacy, that WAVE PAC sent communications to its members encouraging them to support Weiss, and that WAVE PAC sent an email to members inviting them to attend a WAVE PAC meeting that doubled as a Weiss campaign event.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
COMPLAINANT: Benjamin Ray, EMILYs List
RESPONDENTS: Turn AZ Blue PAC and Thomas Datwyler, treasurer (TAB PAC); and Thomas C. Datwyler
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that TAB PAC, an entity not registered with the Commission or with the state of Arizona, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), by failing to register as a political committee after making independent expenditures in excess of $1,000 during the 2024 election cycle, and by failing to file independent expenditure reports. The complaint referenced public filings with the Federal Communications Commission showing that TAB PAC ran advertisements against Marlene Galán-Woods, a candidate in the primary election for Arizona’s First Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
COMPLAINANT: Ann Ravel
RESPONDENTS: Evan Low for Congress and Evan Low, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Evan Low; and Stand With Asian Americans (SWAA)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that SWAA, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, made and Low and the Committee knowingly accepted, impermissible and unreported in-kind contributions in violation of the Act. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the Committee used SWAA’s “server and/or email list” when it distributed an email supporting Low that contained an unsubscribe button linking to a URL with a domain apparently associated with SWAA. Evan Low was a 2024 candidate for California’s 16th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint.
Litigation
DCCC v. FEC (Case No. 24-2935) On May 6, Plaintiff filed a Reply in Support of their Motion for Summary Judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings
May 20, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
Upcoming educational opportunities
May 20-21, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for candidate committees.
June 4, 2025: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar for nonconnected committees.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.
Upcoming reporting due dates
May 20: May Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2025 Monthly Reporting schedule.
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.
Federal election results 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.
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.
Join the FEC on X and YouTube
Follow @FEC on X 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.
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- Myles Martin
- Deputy Press Officer
- Myles Martin