At issue in Advisory Opinion Request 2014-06 is whether Representative Paul Ryan’s leadership PAC, Prosperity Action, may promote the sale of his upcoming book on the Internet beyond de minimis levels. Representative Ryan intends to receive royalties from the book.
The Federal Election Commission published two drafts of a response to his request. The first, Draft A, would grant it. The second, Draft B, broadly asserts that “the Act’s personal use prohibition applies to leadership PACs, such as Prosperity Action.” Adopting Draft B would be a significant policy change for the FEC. In its legislative recommendations just last year, the FEC asked Congress to amend 2 U.S.C. § 439a to cover leadership PACs, saying: “Congress might not have considered the application of the personal use prohibition to this particular type of political committee.”
But at the heart of the request is a highly technical question that vexed many during the failed prosecution of John Edwards….