Week of July 1 – 5, 2019

Commission meetings and hearings

No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory opinions

Drafts

Advisory Opinion Request 2019-08 (Omar2020)

On July 5, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion Request 2019-08. The requestor, Omar2020, is a congressional campaign committee that asks whether it may distribute digital blockchain tokens (with no monetary value) to volunteers and supporters as an incentive to engage in volunteer activities.

Advisory Opinion Request 2019-09 (Mad Dog PAC)

On July 5, the Commission made public a draft of Advisory Opinion Request 2019-09. Requestor Mad Dog PAC, a nonconnected political committee, asks about the permissibility of selling t-shirts to raise funds for the committee. The t-shirts will bear the facial likenesses and names of various candidates seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency in 2020. The requestor will neither communicate nor share the proceeds with any candidates. On June 28, the requestor submitted supplemental information.

Enforcement

The Commission made public one closed case, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7221

• COMPLAINANT: Self-Initiated
• RESPONDENTS: Mepco Holdings, LLC (Mepco); Mepco, LLC; Longview Intermediate Holdings C, LLC (Longview); James Laurita, Jr.; Karen Hughes; Kevin O’Dell; Brian Osborn; Steven Polce; Richard Usery; Eric Grimm; Kent Lindsay; and Christopher Stecher
• SUBJECT: Mepco and Longview disclosed that Mepco’s former president and CEO Laurita caused Mepco to make contributions in the name of another by reimbursing its executive officers for political contributions.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that: (1) Mepco and Mepco, LLC violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act) by making contributions in the name of another and excessive contributions; (2) Grimm, Lindsay, O’Dell, Osborn, Polce, Stecher, and Usery violated the Act by knowingly permitting their names to be used to effect contributions in the name of another, and Laurita and Hughes did so on a knowing and willful basis; and (3) Laurita violated the Act by making contributions in the name of another and excessive contributions. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Mepco to pay a civil penalty of $54,000. The Commission also entered into conciliation agreements on a non-knowing and willful basis with Laurita, who agreed to pay a civil penalty of $18,000, and Hughes, who agreed to pay a civil penalty of $9,000. The Commission took no further action with respect to O’Dell, Osborn, Polce, Usery, Grimm, Lindsay, Stecher, and Longview and closed the file.

Litigation

• Giffords v. FEC (Case No. 19-1192) On July 2, the Commission filed a Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment.
• The Legacy Foundation v. FEC (Case No. 1:19-cv-01389) On July 3, the Commission filed an Answer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• Lieu, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-5072) On June 28, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, and Mazie Hirono; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Christopher T. Robertson, Kelly Bergstrand, and Alexander Winkelman filed Briefs of Amici Curiae in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
• Ted Cruz for Senate, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-908) On June 28, Plaintiffs filed a Reply in Support of Their Application for a Three-Judge Court and Response to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• July 9 and 11: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• July 11: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
• July 23: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
• July 25: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• July 15: July Quarterly reports are due. For more information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• July 20: July Monthly reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• July 31: Mid-Year reports are due. For more information on semi-annual reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Semi-Annual Reporting page of the Commission website.

Upcoming educational programs

On July 10, Commission staff will host reporting and FECFile webinars for PACs and party committees.

Additional research materials

FEC Notify: Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

Printed copies of the 2018 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are available. Contact the Commission's Information Division at (202) 694-1100 or (800) 424-9530 (press 6, when prompted) to order printed copies of the CFR at no charge. You may also email the Information Division to place an order at info@fec.gov.

The 2017 Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations is available. Other Campaign Guides are available, as well.

Federal Elections 2016: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices. To order a printed copy, please contact the FEC’s Public Records Office at 800/424-9530 (option 2) or 202/694-1120, or send an email to pubrec@fec.gov.

The Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.

The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube

Follow @FEC on Twitter to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms at this time. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.