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Sep 8, 2006 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: September 8, 2006 Three-Judge Court Denies Injunction in WRTL Case
On Thursday, September 7, a three-judge panel of the federal district court for the District of Columbia unanimously denied an injunction sought by Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL). The group sought to broadcast an ad that would have referenced the name of a federal candidate (U.S. Senator Herb Kohl-WI) just before the upcoming Wisconsin primary and within 60 days of the general election. The injunction was part of WRTL's as-applied challenge to the "electioneering communications" provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA).
The legal challenge is the latest in a series of efforts, all unsuccessful, to challenge the BCRA "electioneering communications" provisions. The three-judge court stated that an opinion explaining the reasons for the denial of the injunction will follow.
The Supreme Court ruled just two years ago in McConnell v. FEC that the electioneering communications provisions of BRCA were valid on their face, and the broadcast ad proposed by WRTL in this case was virtually identical to those that were before the Supreme Court in McConnell. Trevor Potter , President of the Campaign Legal Center , noted that the decision by the three-judge court on September 7 was fully consistent with the law and constitutional jurisprudence on this subject.
The Legal Center is serving as co-counsel to defendant-intervenors in this case, Senator John McCain, and Reps. Tammy Baldwin, Marty Meehan, and Chris Shays.
To view the Legal Center 's press release on the three-judge court decision, click here .
To view the Legal Center 's opposition to WRTL's motion for preliminary injunction, click here .
Reform Groups Challenge Congress on Corruption Scandals
Reform groups sent a letter on September 7 challenging members of Congress on their failure to deal with the corruption scandals in this Congress and calling on Members to make a commitment to fight for the lobbying and ethics reforms that are essential to restoring the integrity of Congress.
The groups include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.
According to a letter sent to House Members, "As we head into the final weeks of the 109th Congress, this Congress has done nothing to address the worst congressional corruption scandals in decades. Congress has enacted no reforms to address the ethics, lobbying and influence-money scandals that have been a hallmark of the 109th Congress."
To view the press release and full letter, click here.
On Friday, September 08, 2006, the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter to all House Members urging them to support real earmarking reforms while stressing that substantive lobbying and ethics changes will eventually have to be addressed as well. In the letter, the Legal Center laid out a series of bare minimum requirements that any attempted reform of the earmarking system must meet in order to stand any chance of making a dent in the widespread abuse of the system.
The letter also states that the lobbying and ethics changes passed by the House and the Senate earlier this year do not constitute substantive reform and urges Congress to reject them and pass a measure that will live up to the standards laid out by the Speaker of the House in January after the Jack Abramoff scandal broke.
To read the full letter, click here.
Legal Center Blog Highlights
Each week, the Campaign Legal Center staff posts blog entries on its site, www.clcblog.org. To read this week's entries, "Repairing the Presidential Public Financing System," and "Congressional Lobbying Disclosure Behind the Times" or to sign up for blog updates, click here.
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on campaign finance, please click here. |
