A campaign finance manager and political consultant pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Virginia for coordinating $325,000 in federal election campaign contributions by a political action committee (PAC) to a Congressional campaign committee. This is the first criminal prosecution in the United States based upon the coordination of campaign contributions between political committees.
This is an extremely important development and sends a warning signal to all federal candidates in the 2016 elections that they can no longer ignore the nation’s coordination laws with impunity.
Presidential and congressional candidates have been blatantly ignoring the laws prohibiting coordination between candidates and outside spending groups with full knowledge that the Federal Election Commission is paralyzed and will not enforce the campaign finance laws.
With today’s groundbreaking criminal prosecution, the Justice Department has sent a clear and compelling warning that presidential and congressional candidates who engage in illegal coordination activities are no longer risk free and can face criminal prosecution for their campaign finance violations.
MORE from NYT.
UPDATE: Statement from Common Cause