The FEC has issued this press release, which begins: “The Federal Election Commission (FEC/Commission) announced today that it has reached a settlement with America Coming Together (ACT) regarding violations of federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 Presidential election. ACT, a federal political action committee (PAC) that also has a non-federal account registered under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, agreed to pay $775,000 to settle charges that it used funds raised outside federal limits and source prohibitions to pay for expenses that should have been paid with funds raised within the federal contribution limits and prohibitions. This settlement represents the third largest civil penalty in an enforcement matter in the Commission’s thirty-three year history. The Commission unanimously approved the conciliation agreement.”
Another important aspect of the press release: “The Commission is also releasing a separate Factual and Legal Analysis addressing allegations of illegal in-kind contributions made by ACT to the DNC and John Kerry for President. The Commission investigation of these allegations uncovered no evidence of coordination between those organizations and ACT.”
See also Soros-Linked Group Hit with Huge Fine in The Politico.
UPDATE: ACT has released statements that I’ve posted here and here. You can find here the Statement of Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert and Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on FEC Action Taken on Complaint Filed Against ACT.