Week of October 31-November 4, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory Opinions

Supplemental Material Received

Advisory Opinion Requests 2022-22 (Data Vault I) and 2022-23 (Data Vault II) On October 31, the Commission received supplemental material from the requestor.

Commissioners’ Statements

Advisory Opinion 2022-20 (Maggie for NH) On November 4, Commissioners Shana M. Broussard and Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement.

Advisory Opinion 2022-21 (DSCC, Bennet for Colorado, and People for Patty Murray) On November 4, Commissioner Broussard issued a Statement.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7337

COMPLAINANTS: Campaign Legal Center and Catherine Hinckley Kelley
RESPONDENTS: Debbie Lesko; Re-Elect Debbie Lesko for Senate (State Committee); and Conservative Leadership for Arizona and Tim Sifert, in his official capacity as treasurer
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Lesko and the State Committee transferred $50,000 in funds from the State Committee to Conservative Leadership for Arizona (CLA), an independent expenditure-only political committee, that were not subject to the reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and were used in connection with a federal election. Lesko was an Arizona State Senator and a 2018 candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: On July 23, 2019, the Commission found reason to believe that Lesko and the State Committee transferred, and CLA received and spent, funds that were not subject to the reporting requirements of the Act and were used in connection with a federal election. On July 27, 2021, the Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for CLA to pay no civil penalty, based on its representation that it intended to terminate, was defunct, had no cash on hand, and had a limited ability to raise any additional funds. On September 29, 2022, the Commission closed the file in connection with the allegations regarding Lesko and the State Committee. Commissioners Broussard and Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7355

COMPLAINANT: Nevada State Democratic Party
RESPONDENT: Heller for Senate and Chrissie Hastie, in her official capacity as treasurer (Heller Committee); and Ahern Ad, LLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Heller Committee failed to include a proper disclaimer on an electronic billboard advertisement, or that it accepted an impermissible corporate contribution from an unknown respondent, later determined to be Adhern Ad, LLC, who was responsible for 10 ads on a rotating display at a gas station. Dean Heller was a 2018 candidate for Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat.
DISPOSITION: On October 4, 2019, the Commission found reason to believe that the as-yet unknown respondent, which was later determined to be Adhern Ad, LLC, failed to include disclaimers and failed to report an independent expenditure. On September 22, 2022, the Commission voted to substitute the name of Ahern Ad, LLC in place of “Unknown Respondent” in the Commission’s previous findings. After considering the circumstances of the matter, the Commission voted to take no further action as to the allegations against Adhern Ad, LLC. The Commission also found no reason to believe that the Heller Committee impermissibly accepted a corporate contribution or failed to include disclaimers on the electronic billboard.

MUR 7670

COMPLAINANT: Kendra Arnold, Executive Director, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust
RESPONDENTS: Hickenlooper for Colorado and Mark Turnage, in his official capacity as treasurer (Senate Committee); Hickenlooper for Colorado (State Committee); Hickenlooper 2020 and Blanca Uzeta O’Leary, in her official capacity as treasurer (Presidential Committee); Giddy Up PAC and Stephanie Donner, in her official capacity as treasurer; and Putnam Partners, LLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the State Committee made, and the Senate Committee accepted, a prohibited transfer a campaign asset when the Senate Committee used video footage advertisement that was previously produced by Putnam Partners, LLC, for the State Committee’s advertisements. The complaint alleged further that neither the Senate Committee, the Presidential Committee, nor Giddy Up PAC, Hickenlooper’s Leadership PAC, reported any disbursements to or in-kind contributions from the State Committee or Putnam Partners for the costs of that footage. Hickenlooper was a 2020 primary candidate for U.S. President, then a 2020 candidate for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe the Presidential Committee or Giddy Up PAC violated the Act or Commission regulations. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the remaining allegations. Chairman Allen J. Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7903

COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Tomfoolery, LLC (Tomfoolery); and Thomas Chavez
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Chavez, the single natural person member of Tomfoolery, a limited liability company, made and Tomfoolery knowingly permitted its name to be used to effect two contributions in the name of another totaling $75,000.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Chavez and Tomfoolery to pay a civil penalty of $25,000. Commissioner Cooksey issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7936

COMPLAINANTS: End Citizens United and Tiffany Muller
RESPONDENTS: Greene for Congress and Jason D. Boles, in his official capacity as treasurer (Greene for Congress); Save America Stop Socialism PAC and Jason D. Boles, in his official capacity as treasurer (SASS PAC); and Marjorie Taylor Greene
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that SASS PAC, Greene’s Leadership PAC, made an excessive and unreported contribution to Greene and the Greene Committee when SASS PAC paid to air a broadcast advertisement that the Greene Committee had previously published on YouTube. The complaint alleged further that SASS PAC’s version of the ad included an inaccurate disclaimer by stating that it was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s authorized committee. Greene is a 2022 candidate for reelection to Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter. The Commission observed that the amounts at issue were relatively modest. Vice Chair Dara Lindenbaum and Commissioners Broussard and Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7962

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENTS: Just the Truth Political Action Committee and Jodi Schwartz, in her official capacity as treasurer (Just the Truth)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe Just the Truth, an independent expenditure-only political committee, by failing to file 48-hour independent expenditure reports in a timely manner.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Just the Truth to pay a civil penalty of $42,000.

MUR 7967

COMPLAINANTS: Mooney for Congress 2022; and Teemu Garrity
RESPONDENTS: Defending Main Street SuperPAC Inc., and Sarah Chamberlain, in her official capacity as Treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee filed independent expenditure reports in the 2021-22 election cycle in which the opposing candidate’s name was misspelled.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the complaint. The Commission observed that the Committee amended its disclosure reports to correct the misspelling, and the communications underlying these reports contained the correct spelling of the candidate with the proper disclaimers.

MUR 7965

COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Iho Araise LLC; Saving Arizona PAC and Janna Rutland, in her official capacity as Treasurer (the Committee); and Unknown Respondents
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that at least one unknown individual used Iho Araise LLC as a conduit to make contributions on their behalf to the Committee in the 2021-2022 election cycle.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe that Iho Araise LLC and Unknown Respondents made contributions in the name of another or knowingly permitted their names to be used to effect such contributions. The Commission further found no reason to believe that the Committee knowingly accepted such a contribution. The Commission noted that the available information did not support the allegations in the complaint.

Audits

Final Audit Report of the Commission on Aníbal Comisionado 2020. On October 31, the Commission made public the Final Audit Report of the Commission on Aníbal Comisionado 2020, covering campaign finance activity from February 10, 2020 to December 31, 2020. The Commission approved findings related to Misstatement of Financial Activity and Disclosure of Occupation and/or Name of Employer.

Litigation

AB PAC v. FEC (Case No. 22-2139) On November 4, the Commission filed a Partial Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint and a supporting Memorandum of Points and Authorities.

Campaign Legal Center v. FEC (Case Nos. 22-5140, 22-5167) On November 3, Appellant Heritage Action for America filed a Corrected Brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

CREW v. FEC (Case No. 22-3281) On October 27, Plaintiff filed a Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

John A. Castro v. FEC (Case No. 22-2176) On October 31, the Commission filed a Partial Motion to Dismiss and a Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of its Partial Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On October 31, Chairman Dickerson spoke with a group of students in the Democracy and Governance graduate program at Georgetown University.

On November 1-6, Chairman Dickerson co-taught a class entitled “Contemporary Problems in Law and Politics” at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Upcoming Commission meetings

November 15, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

November 17, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

November 29, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

December 1, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

November 30, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar on Winding Down the Campaign and Post-General Reporting.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

December 8: 30-Day Post-General Reports are due. For more information, see the Pre- and Post-General Reporting schedule.

Employment opportunities

The FEC is accepting applications for the position of Attorney-Adviser. To view the vacancy announcement, visit USAJOBS - Job Announcement.

The FEC is accepting applications for the position of Budget Director. To view the vacancy announcement, visit USAJOBS - Job Announcement.

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 Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is now 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.