Week of September 11 – 15, 2023

Commission meetings and hearings

On September 12, the Commission met in executive session.

The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting that had been scheduled for September 14.

Advisory Opinions

Request Received

Advisory Opinion Request 2023-06 (Texas Majority PAC) On September 12, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request by Texas Majority PAC. The requestor asks whether the costs associated with a paid canvass are contributions to any federal candidate or political party committee that is referenced in the canvassing materials. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than September 22, 2023) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete advisory opinion request, that is, by November 13, 2023.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7729

COMPLAINANT: Rebuilding America Now and Chris Marston, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
RESPONDENTS: Ryan Call; and Hale Westfall
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Call, formerly the treasurer of the Committee and an attorney at Hale Westfall, a law firm that provided compliance services to the Committee, failed to account properly for contributions and expenditures and submitted false reporting of the Committee’s receipts and disbursements.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that Call knowingly and willfully violated the Act by commingling Committee funds with his personal funds and failing to file accurate reports with the Commission and entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Call to pay a civil penalty of $21,805. The Commission found no reason to believe Hale Westfall violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), or Commission regulations.

MUR 7897

COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Ted Cruz for Senate and Bradley Scott Knippa, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Cruz and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use when the Committee purchased Facebook advertisements to promote a book by Cruz, a 2024 candidate for reelection to Texas’s United States Senate seat.
DISPOSITION: On April 12, 2023, the Commission found that there was reason to believe that Cruz and the Committee converted $13,900 in campaign funds to personal use by purchasing Facebook ads promoting sales of Cruz’s book. The Commission found there was no reason to believe Cruz and the Committee converted $154,356 in campaign funds to personal use by purchasing copies of Cruz’s book because the available information indicated that the Committee bought the books for distribution to contributors, in reasonable amounts to accomplish that purpose and at retail prices available to the general public. On August 8, 2023, the Commission determined to take no further action as to Cruz and the Committee and closed the file. Chair Dara Lindenbaum, Vice Chair Sean J. Cooksey, and Commissioners Allen J. Dickerson and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7990

COMPLAINANT: Daniel A. Horowitz
RESPONDENTS: Kim Klacik for Congress and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Kimberly Klacik; and Dickinson Wright PLLC
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Klacik and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use by paying for legal expenses in connection with a defamation suit brought by Klacik personally. A second supplemental complaint alleged that Dickinson Wright PLLC made and the Committee received an improper loan resulting in an excessive contribution. Klacik was a 2020 candidate for Maryland’s 7th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Klacik and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use because the defamation suit at issue would not have existed irrespective of Klacik’s campaign. The Commission found no reason to believe Dickinson Wright PLLC made an excessive contribution to the Committee because there was no information available to indicate that a loan was made.

MUR 8034

COMPLAINANT: Cristov Dosev
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Matt Gaetz and Steven G. Martin, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Matt Gaetz
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Gaetz and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use by paying various law firms for services that were allegedly in connection with an investigation into Gaetz’s personal activities. Gaetz was a 2022 candidate for reelection in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Gaetz and the Committee converted campaign funds to personal use because there was no information in the record to indicate that the Committee’s payment of legal expenses would have exceeded the portion of the investigation that arose from campaign activity.

MUR 8062

COMPLAINANT: Garrett Petersen
RESPONDENTS: Andrew Garbarino; Friends of Andrew Garbarino (State Committee); and Garbarino for Congress and Lisa Lisker, in her official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that (1) the State Committee made and Garbarino and the Federal Committee accepted an $800 transfer, (2) the State Committee made in-kind contributions to the Federal Committee by paying for several of Garbarino’s federal campaign expenses, and (3) the State Committee received $3,550 in corporate contributions after Garbarino became a federal candidate and was no longer a state candidate, and contributed $30,700 to state and local candidates and committees without instituting a reasonable accounting method to ensure such contributions were not made with nonfederal funds. Garbarino was a 2020 candidate for New York’s 2nd Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Vice Chairman Cooksey and Commissioners Dickerson and Trainor issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 8083

COMPLAINANT: End Citizens United
RESPONDENTS: Tom Patti for Congress and Kelly Lawler in her official capacity as treasurer (Patti for Congress); Tom Patti for County Supervisor 2016 and Kimm Lovelace, in her official capacity as treasurer (Patti for Supervisor); and Thomas Patti
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Patti for Congress received unlawful transfers from Patti for Supervisor, which purportedly used nonfederal funds to pay for digital advertisements, printing, travel, website and other expenses. Patti was a 2022 candidate for California’s 9th Congressional District.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe a violation occurred in connection with the digital advertisements described in the complaint because the available record supports the respondents’ claims that Patti for Congress paid for the ads. The Commission further found no reason to believe a violation occurred in connection with allegations concerning Patti for Supervisor’s payments to common vendors because respondents plausibly showed that Patti for Supervisor used nonfederal funds for appropriate nonfederal expenses. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations regarding charges from the candidate’s credit card for the congressional campaign’s printing, travel and website expenses that initially were paid by Patti for Supervisor ad later reimbursed by Patti for Congress.

Audits

Final Audit Report of the Commission on Communications Workers of America – COPE Political Contributions Committee On September 13, the Commission made public the Final Audit Report of the Commission on Communications Workers of America – COPE PCC. The Commission approved findings related to misstatement of financial activity and disclosure of occupation and name of employer.

Regulations and agency procedures

Request for Public Comment on Improvements to Report Filing Processes and Website Usability. On September 13, the Commission published a Notification in the Federal Register, seeking public comment on ways to improve its report filing processes and public-facing website. All comments must be in writing. Commenters may submit comments by email to publiccomment2023-14@fec.gov. All commenters must provide, at a minimum, their first name, last name, city, and state. All properly submitted comments, including attachments, will become part of the public record, and the Commission will make comments available for public viewing on the Commission’s website and in the Commission’s Public Records Office. Comments are due by November 13, 2023.

Proposed Directive Regarding Investigations Conducted by the Office of General Counsel. On September 12, the Commission received a comment on the proposal from the Institute for Free Speech.

Litigation

Ready to Win v. FEC (Case No. 23-5161) On September 8, the Plaintiff-Appellant filed an Amended Opposition to FEC’s Partial Motion to Dismiss in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On September 14, the Commission filed a Reply in Support of Partial Motion to Dismiss.

Outreach

On September 12-14, Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub participated in the Computational Cybersecurity in Compromised Environments (C3E) Workshop at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL, speaking on malign foreign influence in elections.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

October 3, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

October 5, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

October 17, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

October 19, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

September 27, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a full-day Seminar for Separate Segregated Funds at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In-person attendance is limited, but virtual attendance is also available.

October 4, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a FECFile webinar for candidate committees.

October 25, 2023: The Commission is scheduled to host a full-day Seminar for Candidate and Political Party Committees at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In-person attendance is limited, but virtual attendance is also available.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

September 20: September Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2023 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Additional research materials

Election Dates: The Commission has posted Preliminary 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.

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 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.

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.