Every four years, prosecutors at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) train their sights on money spent to influence the outcome of the presidential election—and those who spend it. While the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has exclusive jurisdiction to penalize and enforce civil violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 52 U.S.C. § 30101 et
coordination
Election Law Compliance for High Net Worth Individuals and Family Offices
By Zachary G. Parks on
Posted in Campaign Finance
With less than one month to go before the 2018 elections, the ground is shifting for major political donors. Developments over the last several years, and especially in the last few months, show that the rules of the road are changing with respect to many of the common election law issues faced by high net…
Forming and Operating Super PACs: A Practical Guide for Political Consultants in 2016
By Derek Lawlor on
Posted in Campaign Finance
Covington recently released a high-level primer that provides political consultants with a practical resource for creating and running a federal Super PAC in a legally compliant manner. The primer, which is available here, explains the history and basic rules that apply to federal Super PACs. The primer then discusses the following key topics:
- checklist
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California Approves Strict Rules on Super PAC Coordination
By Derek Lawlor on
Posted in Campaign Finance, State Law
California has existing regulations that define when expenditures by outside groups, including super PACs, are coordinated with candidates and become illegal contributions to those campaigns. These rules create a presumption of coordination under certain circumstances. Yesterday, the Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) approved revisions to its rules on independent expenditures and coordination that expand the…
California Penalizes Campaign, Committee for Coordination Violation
By Robert Lenhard & Andrew Garrahan on
As Super PACs and campaigns continue to edge closer to the legal line between “independence” and “coordination,” it has become common to hear calls for the FEC to take a stricter role in enforcing the law. Yet as recently reported by BNA, the FEC has not found a single violation of its coordination rules…
The FEC Draws A Clear Line
By Robert Lenhard on
Posted in Campaign Finance
In a decision certain to receive close scrutiny by those representing potential presidential candidates, the FEC has dismissed the allegations made by Stop Hillary PAC against the Super PAC Ready for Hillary, Friends of Hillary and Senator Clinton herself. FEC MUR 6775. The FEC concluded in one part of that decision, that even if…
Super PACs Using Candidates’ B-roll Footage and the FEC’s “Own Message” Cases
By Robert Lenhard on
Posted in Campaign Finance
The press and comedians have recently focused on campaigns loading “B-roll” footage onto Internet sites where Super PACs and other outside spending groups can download the footage to use in political ads. Senator McConnell’s campaign’s use of this tactic has drawn the most attention, but it is far from the first or only campaign to…
State Action, Federal Inaction on Coordination Enforcement Cases
By Andrew Garrahan on
At the federal level, it is generally illegal for an outside group like a Super PAC or a 501(c)(4) organization to coordinate its independent expenditures with the candidate it supports. The same is true in many states. As we recently reported in our 2013 FEC Year in Review, however, the FEC did not act…
Fine Levied Against California Super PAC a Possible Signal of Things to Come
By Zachary G. Parks on
Posted in Campaign Finance, State Law
Earlier this year we predicted that battles over the definition of “coordination” and Super PAC “independence” would play a significant role in the development of campaign finance law in the coming years. In keeping with that forecast, last week, the California Fair Political Practices Commission for the first time fined a Super PAC for allegedly…
Allegations of Illegal Coordination: Not Only Do Elections Have Consequences, Tactics May Also
By Kevin Glandon on
Several recent news reports are a reminder of the importance of the coordination rules. The relaxed rules on raising and spending money on “independent expenditures,” either through a Super PAC or some other entity, are premised on that spending being “independent” of the candidate or political party the independent spender is supporting. There is not…