Category Archives: federal election commission

Today’s Must Read: “Zombie Campaigns: The campaign is over. The candidate might be dead. But the spending never stops.”

January 31, 2018, 4:15 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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… Continue reading

“Draft FEC Rules Target Political Ads on Social Media”

January 30, 2018, 10:06 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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

“FEC Commissioners Feud Over PAC Designation”

January 2, 2018, 8:28 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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… Continue reading

“New hope, new problem: Will Federal Election Commission shut down?”

December 21, 2017, 3:55 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

CPI piece, with the subhead: “Agency could lose quorum just as liberals, conservatives find sliver of common ground”

FEC Commissioner Weintraub Statement on Ongoing Litigation to Stop FEC from Revealing Identity of Those Found to Have Illegally Hid Names of Contributors

December 19, 2017, 4:59 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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

FEC Commissioner Petersen Withdraws from Federal District Court Nomination after Hearing Fiasco; How Long Will He Remain on FEC?

December 18, 2017, 12:23 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Letter concludes: “Until the time is otherwise appropriate, I look forward to returning to my duties at the Federal Election Commission.”

“Facebook Political Ads Get Bare-Bones Guidance From FEC”

December 14, 2017, 8:06 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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

FEC Commissioner Petersen Gets Tough Questioning at Hearing to Become Federal District Court Judge

December 13, 2017, 2:25 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

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,… Continue reading

“Election officials move closer to placing new rules on Facebook and Google”

November 16, 2017, 9:59 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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… Continue reading

In Wake of Russian Interference on Social Media in 2016, Republican FEC Commissioners Agree to Open Rulemaking on Fixing Disclosure Rules

November 15, 2017, 8:23 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

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

“FEC Commissioner Says Agency Limited in Ability to Regulate Online Political Ads”

November 2, 2017, 8:54 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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

“FEC fines contractor that gave pro-Clinton super PACs illegal cash”

September 29, 2017, 7:49 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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… Continue reading

“Campaign watchdogs cite ‘significant concerns’ if Texas lawyer Trey Trainor gets FEC post”

September 28, 2017, 7:10 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

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… Continue reading