CPI: For most of this decade, Congress has all but ignored the perpetually gridlocked Federal Election Commission, which exists to enforce and regulate the nation’s campaign finance laws. No longer, two Democratic congressional representatives tell the Center for Public Integrity. The … Continue reading
Category Archives: federal election commission
CPI reports. … Continue reading
CPI reports. … Continue reading
CPI reports. … Continue reading
CPI: The American social media platforms Russian entities used to influence the 2016 presidential election are essentially attempting to regulate themselves, fearing a repeat during the 2018 midterms. Meanwhile, the federal government agency tasked with protecting U.S. elections from foreign meddling struggled on Wednesday … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: Congressional campaigns may find it easier to coordinate their messages with super political action committees and other outside groups as a result of Federal Election Commission decisions. The commission dismissed complaints that messages posted on the campaign websites … Continue reading
Ellen Weintraub: With a bolt out of the blue last Friday, a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals bestowed a superpower upon the Federal Election Commission. Unfortunately, it is the power to kill any FEC enforcement matter, wholly … Continue reading
Statement from dissenting FEC Commissioner Weintraub: Trump hotels, Trump steaks, Trump water, Trump golf courses, Trump wine. The Complaint in this matter cites to an unprecedented catalog of candidate-branded products and properties used along the 2016 campaign trail. According to … Continue reading
This opinion by Senior Judge Randolph, joined by Judge Kavanaugh is most unfortunate. As Judge Pillard suggests in her dissent, the opinion insulates FEC Commissioners’ refusal to enforce certain campaign finance laws from judicial review under the guise of “prosecutorial … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: A federal court upheld the Federal Election Commission’s dismissal of disclosure charges involving two wealthy contributors who allegedly funneled $14 million to super-political action committees through obscure companies. The FEC’s three Republican commissioners, who voted to dismiss the charges, exercised … Continue reading
The Washington Examiner headline does not match the story. And it’s sadly been amplified by Eric Brown, who is counsel to FEC Commissioner Hunter. Here’s the Q & A with Ann: Ann Ravel, now a lecturer at the University of … Continue reading
NPR: As tech companies and government agencies prepare to defend against possible Russian interference in the midterm elections, the Federal Election Commission has a different response: too soon. The four commissioners on Thursday deadlocked, again, on proposals to consider new … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: A Democrat on the Federal Election Commission is renewing her push for FEC rules to prevent foreign campaign spending following an announcement from the Senate Intelligence Committee confirming Russian election meddling. “There is no doubt that Russia undertook … Continue reading
CPI: In separate interviews Thursday with the Center for Public Integrity, each of the four “holdover” commissioners — who may continue to serve until President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate replace them — confirmed that they have no immediate plans to step … Continue reading
In footnote 2 of this document, the two Republican FEC Commissioners attack Democratic FEC Commissioner @EllenLWeintraub, calling her work encouraging CREW to sue in Court and other actions “ill-advised public statements on social media and attempts to obstruct routine Commission … Continue reading
Dan Tokaji has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Democracy by the People). Here is the abstract: Composed of six commissioners, three aligned with each major party, the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) consistently stalemates on critical questions of campaign finance law. … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission should have pursued enforcement action against the American Action Network, a conservative nonprofit, for failing to disclose funding sources for millions of dollars in television ads supporting Republican congressional candidates, a federal judge ruled March 20. … Continue reading
TPM: News broke late last week that the Federal Election Commission had opened a preliminary inquiry into whether Russians illegally channeled money to the National Rifle Association to support Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. But the FEC’s move, which came after … Continue reading
WaPo: More than a year into his presidency, President Trump has shown little interest in beefing up the Federal Election Commission, the agency that could serve as a key player in his avowed agenda to reduce the influence of moneyed … Continue reading
Lee Goodman, who has been a strong force for deregulating campaign finance law at the Federal Election Commission, has tendered his resignation. (You can listen to my interview with Commissioner Goodman on the ELB Podcast.) With the loss of Commissioner … Continue reading
This is something from the Tampa Bay Times: IT’S BEEN MORE THAN A DECADE since South Florida Rep. Mark Foley was forced out of Congress for sending sexual text messages to teenage boys. But Foley tapped his congressional campaign fund to dine on … Continue reading
Bloomberg: The U.S. Federal Elections Commission is moving forward with a plan to introduce new rules on political advertising on social media ahead of the 2018 election cycle. The commission has a working draft of the rules in front of … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: FEC commissioners are feuding over when a nonprofit group spending to influence elections can be regulated as a political action committee. Democratic Federal Election Commission member Ellen Weintraub said in a statement that a recent court decision mandates that a … Continue reading
CPI piece, with the subhead: “Agency could lose quorum just as liberals, conservatives find sliver of common ground” … Continue reading
Troubling: COVER LETTER TO THE STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER ELLEN L. WEINTRAUB IN MUR 6920 (AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE UNION) DECEMBER 19, 2017 Due to pending litigation, I must take the unprecedented step of releasing the attached statement with the identities of certain … Continue reading
Letter concludes: “Until the time is otherwise appropriate, I look forward to returning to my duties at the Federal Election Commission.” … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: Candidates and political groups may be heading into another congressional election cycle without guidance about what their ads should reveal about who’s paying to influence Facebook’s almost 160 million U.S. users. The Federal Election Commission deadlocked along party … Continue reading
NLJ: A nominee for a District of Columbia judgeship took a beating at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday when he could not define motion in limine. U.S. district court nominee Matthew Petersen, a member of the Federal Election Commission, has never tried … Continue reading
Washington Post: The Federal Election Commission moved a step closer to placing tighter regulations on Internet ads published on major Web platforms, marking a significant shift for an agency beset by partisan dysfunction and another sign that regulators are seeking to thwart foreign … Continue reading
My oh my. A positive (and surprising) development. But let’s see if/what they come up with and if they can get agreement. We’ve seen groups like the Institute for Free Speech oppose the Honest Ads Act out of stated concern … Continue reading
Tony Gaughan has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal). Here is the abstract: Since the 1970s, federal campaign finance law has been built on four pillars. The first is contribution limits on donations to candidate … Continue reading
Morning Consult: As executives from Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Twitter Inc. face congressional committees this week over concerns that Russian agents used their platforms in order to influence the 2016 election, a Democratic member of the Federal Election Commission … Continue reading
CPI: The Federal Election Commission has fined Boston-based Suffolk Construction Co., a federal government contractor, for making illegal contributions to a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC, according to a letter from the agency. The $34,000 settlement between the FEC and Suffolk appears to mark the … Continue reading
Dallas News: Campaign watchdog groups blasted Austin lawyer Trey Trainor on Wednesday, warning senators that his ties to the White House and views on campaign finance should raise “significant concerns” should he win a spot on the Federal Election Commission. … Continue reading
Christopher Hooks for the Texas Observer. … Continue reading
Ann Ravel for Politico: I suggested to the commission that the FEC consult with internet and tech experts to discuss how the agency’s current approach may or may not fit with future innovations. Starting this conversation should have been noncontroversial, … Continue reading
Matea Gold for WaPo: James E. “Trey” Trainor III, the conservative Texas lawyer nominated by President Trump this week to serve on the Federal Election Commission, has challenged the principle that the public benefits from the disclosure of political donors, arguing that voters could be distracted … Continue reading
WaPo oped from Ellen Weintraub, longtime FEC Commissioner: Would you click on that political ad if you knew it had been generated by a Russian troll farm? Probably not. But without knowing that? Well, you might. Indeed, we now know … Continue reading
Ken Doyle for Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to jump-start a rulemaking process focused on disclosure requirements for online ads, following the revelation of Russian-linked political ads on Facebook. The vote, at the end of a lengthy commission … Continue reading
TPM: The Twitter account for President Trump’s new pick for the Federal Election Commission was reportedly made private Tuesday evening after other Twitter users began noticing some of the nominee’s past sharing of anti-Protestant posts. The White House announced late Tuesday … Continue reading
Texas Tribune: President Donald Trump is nominating Trey Trainor, an Austin lawyer well known in Texas politics, to serve on the Federal Election Commission. The White House announced Trainor’s appointment late Tuesday night. He must be confirmed by the Senate. … Continue reading
Dave Levinthal for CPI. … Continue reading
Release: Today Common Cause filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that one or more unknown foreign nationals made expenditures, independent expenditures or disbursements in connection with the 2016 presidential … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: The revelation that Russian sources financed political ads on Facebook in the 2016 presidential campaign could prompt enforcement action by the Federal Election Commission, agency Vice Chairwoman Caroline Hunter said. “It’s something we can and should deal with … Continue reading
Dave Levinthal with the news, who also notes that if Petersen is confirmed there would be only 4 commissioners on the 6-member commission, a bare quorum. … Continue reading
Statement of reasons: The specter of any foreign government meddling in U.S. elections is an issue that we, like all Americans, take very seriously. Contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals in connection with U.S. elections are prohibited by the Federal … Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission may be severely constrained in what it can or will do to combat foreign influence in U.S. elections, a new analysis posted on the agency’s website suggests. The commissioners have recently grappled with the foreign … Continue reading
Read the memorandum. … Continue reading
CPI: On Feb. 6, Center for Public Integrity senior political reporter Dave Levinthal filed a FOIA request seeking any email exchanges between a White House and FEC official. On May 8, the FEC informed Levinthal that it had located responsive … Continue reading