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May 9, 2008 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: May 9, 2008
On May 8, Campaign Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert sent a letter to the entire U.S. Senate yesterday urging them to vote against the confirmation of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission. Hebert outlined a number of instances where von Spakovsky abused federal law enforcement powers for partisan gain and to disfranchise voters, but focused particularly on the misleading claims that a recent Supreme Court decision regarding Indiana's voter ID law somehow vindicates the nominee. The letter reemphasized the necessity of quickly resolving the current stalemate in order to bring about a quorum at the FEC during this consequential election year.
Oral Argument Heard in Shays III Case
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard oral argument in Shays v. Federal Election Commission ("Shays III") on May 5, 2008. The Court of Appeals panel consists of Judge David Tatel, Judge Merritt Garland, and Judge Timothy Griffith.
On February 21, the Campaign Legal Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) to support Representative Christopher Shays' (R-CT) challenge to the FEC's regulations to implement the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The regulations at issue pertain to "coordination," federal candidate and officeholder solicitation at state party fundraising events, and the definition of "federal election activity."
FEC Announces Settlement of CLC 2004 Complaint Against 527 Texans for Truth
The FEC today announced its settlement of an enforcement action against the 527 group Texans for Truth, which was initiated by a complaint filed in September 2004 by the CLC, Democracy 21 and the Center for Responsive Politics. During September and October 2004, Texans for Truth spent more than $300,000 on television ads in battleground states criticizing President Bush.
After three years of investigation, the FEC concluded that, because solicitations disseminated by Texans for Truth indicated that funds received would be used to defeat President Bush in the 2004 election, the funds received were "contributions" under federal law. The FEC further concluded that Texans for Truth's "major purpose" was the defeat of President Bush. Consequently, the FEC concluded that Texans for Truth was a federal "political committee" that violated the federal law political committee registration and reporting requirements as well as the federal law $5,000 contribution
Wrong Victim at the FEC
In a statement issued on May 7, 2008, Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert expressed his disappointment with the Bush Administration's decision not to renominate Chairman David Mason to the Federal Election Commission while refusing to withdraw the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky. The confirmation impasse at the FEC stems from the Administration's nomination of von Spakovsky, a controversial nominee who amassed a substantial record of partisan abuse of law enforcement powers and of undermining voting rights laws during his 2003-2005 tenure at the Justice Department.
The failure to renominate current Chairman David Mason, the statement noted, reeks of blatant political interference. Hebert's statement said that President Bush deemed Mr. Mason fully qualified for the FEC twice in the last two years and had put his name forward for that post. The statement observed that "nothing has changed except, of course, Mr. Mason's legitimate questions about the circumstances that must be addressed when a candidate seeks to opt out of presidential public financing system."
CLC Presents Campaign Finance Overview to University of Utah Students
On Monday, May 5, 2008, Director of Communications David Vance and Associate Counsel Tara Malloy spoke to Professor Tim Chambliss and his class of University of Utah students who visited the Legal Center. The presentation provided an overview of the evolution of campaign finance law to its current state, ongoing legal challenges, legislative attempts to bolster existing reforms, and the role of money in the 2008 elections.
Legal Center Blog Highlights
Each week, the Campaign Legal Center staff posts blog entries on its site, www.clcblog.org. To sign up for the blog, click here.
Week in the News
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on a variety of Campaign Legal Center issues, please click here. |
