Week of April 4-8, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On April 5 and 7, the Commission met in executive session.

The Commission canceled the open meeting scheduled for April 7.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7147

COMPLAINANTS: Lawrence M. Noble, Esq. and Catherine Hinckley Kelley
RESPONDENT: Make America Number 1 and Jacquelyn James, in her official capacity as treasurer (MAN1); Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and Bradley T. Crate, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Trump campaign); Rebuilding America Now and Chris Marston, in his official capacity as treasurer (RAN); Stephen K. Bannon; and Kellyanne Conway
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that MAN1, an independent expenditure-only political committee supporting the Trump campaign in 2016, violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations when it paid for the personal services of Conway and Bannon, two Trump campaign staffers, resulting in them making excessive contributions. The complaint also alleged excessive in-kind contributions from RAN to the Trump campaign in the form of coordinated expenditures.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations that Conway and Bannon violated the Act because there was insufficient information to suggest that the payments made by MAN1 to the Trump campaign were actually payments for services rendered by Conway and Bannon to the campaign. The Commission closed the file as to the other allegations and respondents. Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub issued a Statement of Reasons.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

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

ADR 1044

COMPLAINANT: Self-Reported
RESPONDENT: NRCC and Keith A. Davis, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The Committee filed a sua sponte submission stating that it failed to report an independent expenditure totaling $17,894.57 on a 24-Hour Report in November 2020 due to an administrative oversight.
DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.

ADRs 1052 and 1053

COMPLAINANTS: FEC-Initiated and Self-Reported
RESPONDENT: Lafayette County Democratic Party and Susan Fino, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee disclosed apparent unauthorized disbursements totaling $13,500 in its 2019 Mid-Year Report. The Committee also filed a sua sponte submission stating that the Committee’s previous treasurer issued checks to himself and his corporation and made debit card withdrawals for personal expenses from the Committee’s bank account.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) certify that internal control procedures have been followed consistently for a period of two years; 2) attend an FEC training; and 3) pay a civil penalty of $200.

ADRs 1062 and 1075

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: America Great PAC and Jason Pallante, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee engaged in a series of reporting errors and other violations during the 2019-2020 election cycle, including (1) excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions/transfers, (2) failure to provide supporting schedules, (3) failure to properly itemize contributions from individuals, and (4) failure to properly itemize disbursements, as well as failure to disclose all financial activity on its 2021 Mid-Year Report
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission; 2) perform an annual internal audit and reconciliation for two years; 3) attend an FEC training; and 4) pay a civil penalty of $9,325.

ADR 1063

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Grassroots Democrats HQ and Melissa Grant, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee engaged in a series of reporting errors during the 2019-2020 election cycle, including mathematical discrepancies, and excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions/transfers.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) develop and certify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission; 2) perform an annual internal audit and reconciliation for two years; 3) attend an FEC training; and 4) pay a civil penalty of $3,250.

ADR 1064

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Latino Victory Fund and Maria R. Gonzalez, in official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of exercising its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe that the Committee engaged in a series of reporting errors during the 2019-2020 election cycle including excessive, prohibited, and other impermissible contributions/transfers; mathematical discrepancies; and failure to provide supporting schedules.
DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to 1) retain an outside consultant to review its compliance procedures and conduct an on-site training with those responsible for preparing and filing its reports; 2) perform an annual internal audit and reconciliation for two years; 3) develop and certify implementation of a process to track receipt of, and response to, communications with the Commission; and 4) pay a civil penalty of $3,125.

Administrative Fines

The Commission made public three closed cases, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Administrative Fine search system.

AF 4241 People’s Action Power and Bree Carlson, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $4,927.

AF 4243 Together We Thrive and Christopher Zullo, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $8,418.

AF 4244 Women Vote Smart and Amy S. Kremer, in official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $11,786.

Litigation

45Committee, Inc. v. FEC (Case No. 22-502) On March 31, the Commission filed an Answer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On April 6, the Commission hosted a webinar for political party committees.

On April 7, Commissioner Shana M. Broussard appeared on Campaign Legal Center’s Democracy Decoded podcast to discuss the agency’s role in protecting the integrity of the campaign finance system.

Upcoming Commission meetings

April 26 and 28, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

April 28, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

April 20, 2022: The Commission will host an FECConnect OnTopic session on Filing 48-Hour Notices for Last-Minute Contributions and Loans.

May 11, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for corporations and their PACs.

May 18, 2022: The Commission will host an FECConnect OnTopic session on responding to Requests for Additional Information (RFAIs) from the Commission’s Reports Analysis Division (RAD).

May 25, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for membership and labor organizations and their PACs.

For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming reporting due dates

April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Quarterly Reporting schedule.

April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2022 Monthly Reporting schedule.

Updated Campaign Guide

The Commission recently updated its Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees. The new Guide, which replaces the 2014 edition, provides an overall summary of the federal campaign finance laws that apply to candidates for the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate and their campaign committees. Printed versions of the Guide are now available for order from the Commission’s Information Division.

Additional research materials

Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.

2020 Presidential General Election Results and Federal Elections 2018: Election Results for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

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.

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 Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.

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

Other election-related resources

Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI’s Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.

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. The use of the agency’s logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.