Category Archives: federal election commission

Aprill: “A Tax Lesson for Election Law”

October 7, 2019, 7:52 amcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill has an important new piece at Tax Notes building off the Price for Congress request for an advisory opinion, and lucky for us you can get it from behind the paywall: An August 22 deadlock by the Federal… Continue reading

FEC Commissioner Hunter Responds to FEC Chair Weintraub’s Attempt to Put Foreign Interference Draft in FEC Digest, Confirms FEC Foreign Contribution Ban (Without Opinion on Whether Opposition Research is a Thing of Value)

October 1, 2019, 5:50 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Statement: Late last week, my colleague, Ellen Weintraub, unilaterally and without advance notice, made public a draft interpretative rule regarding the Act’s foreign national ban and placed it on the agenda for the open meeting of October 17, 2019. Approval… Continue reading

FEC Commissioner Hunter Blocks Publication of Weekly FEC Digest Because it Includes FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub’s Statement About What Counts as a Thing of Value for Purposes of Ban on Foreign Contributions to Campaigns

September 27, 2019, 4:07 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Can’t make this up folks: 3/GOP FEC Commissioner Caroline Hunter took the altogether unprecedented step of objecting to its being added to the Digest and blocked publication of the whole Digest as a result.— Ellen L. Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) September … Continue reading

FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub Releases Draft Letter Setting Forth Her View of FEC Law that Candidates Soliciting Opposition Research Not at Market Rates Violate the Federal Law

September 26, 2019, 7:54 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

This cannot be acted on by an FEC without a quorum, and surely this would divide the commission along party lines, but Ellen Weintraub’s analysis seems solid.

More Attacks from the Right on FEC Chair Weintraub

September 24, 2019, 8:37 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

They don’t like that she’s exercising her First Amendment rights or that she’s speaking out against foreign interference in the 2020 elections.

“The FEC Is Paralyzed. It Couldn’t Come At A Worse Time.”

September 24, 2019, 7:32 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for TPM Cafe.

The First African-American Commissioner for the FEC?

September 11, 2019, 12:10 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Could happen. More likely nothing happens.

“Congressional Standoff May Delay Federal Election Oversight”

September 6, 2019, 7:42 amfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Ken Doyle: The Federal Election Commission’s paralysis on key campaign-finance matters could be extended indefinitely as leaders in Congress skirmish over how to appoint new commissioners.Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), want to install six new… Continue reading

Ex-FEC Commissioner Petersen Left FEC Without a Quorum In Order to Work at Holtzman Vogel

September 5, 2019, 10:51 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Anna Massoglia: Ex-@FEC vice chair Matthew Petersen—whose departure effectively thwarts any FEC enforcement action going into 2020 elections—is joining Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky, a political law firm known for creative legal maneuvers hiding "dark money" donors https://t.co/8EL1aDrPjx pic.twitter.com/7bLEJSlNXK—… Continue reading

“As FEC Nears Shutdown, Priorities Such As Stopping Election Interference On Hold”

September 1, 2019, 1:23 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

NPR reports.

FEC Commissioner Petersen Intentionally Left Internet Disclosure Regulations Hanging, Knowing He Was Leaving

August 29, 2019, 10:26 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

[Bumped to the top with corrected link] Mother Jones: At the most recent FEC meeting last week, commissioners punted—for the fourth meeting in a row—on the question of how to attach the same kind of disclosures that appear in… Continue reading

“Could take FEC a while to regain a quorum, but don’t expect a ‘Wild West’”

August 28, 2019, 7:54 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Kate Ackley for Roll Call.

Quote of the Day

August 26, 2019, 8:01 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

“When I saw …that Don McGahn went to be the White House counsel, I predicted…that what that meant was that all agencies in the federal government whose job it was to protect the public interest were going to be rendered… Continue reading