Week of February 14-18, 2022

Commission meetings and hearings

On February 15 and 17, the Commission met in executive session.

On February 17, the Commission held an open meeting.

Enforcement

The Commission made public six closed cases and one additional Concurring Statement, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

MUR 7139

COMPLAINANTS: John K. Delaney; and Friends of John Delaney
RESPONDENTS: Maryland USA and Joel Ritter, in his official capacity as Treasurer (Maryland USA); Mark Epstein; Amie Hoeber; and Amie Hoeber for Congress and Chris Marston, in his official capacity as Treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Maryland USA, an independent expenditure-only political committee, republished the Committee’s campaign video footage and coordinated its communications with the Committee in support of Hoeber’s 2016 campaign for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations. The complaint alleged that coordination occurred because Epstein, Hoeber’s husband, served in dual campaign roles for the Committee and was the majority financial contributor to Maryland USA, and because Maryland USA and the Committee each used two common vendors.
DISPOSITION: The Commission closed the file. Chairman Allen Dickerson and Commissioners Sean J. Cooksey and James E. “Trey” Trainor, III and Commissioners Shana M. Broussard and Ellen L. Weintraub issued Statements of Reasons.

MURs 7207, 7268, 7274 & 7623

COMPLAINANTS: Free Speech for People; Campaign for Accountability; Allen J. Epstein; Rose Clara White; Robert C. Sinnot; Common Cause and Paul S. Ryan; and Russell S. Kussman
RESPONDENTS: Russian Federation; Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Bradley T. Crate in his official capacity as treasurer (Trump Committee); Donald J. Trump; Unknown Congressional Candidate; Cambridge Analytica, LLC; Paul Manafort; and Internet Research Agency
SUBJECT: The complaints raised allegations that: (1) the Russian Federation and the Internet Research Agency made prohibited foreign national expenditures and independent expenditures in connection with an influence campaign targeting the 2016 presidential election and failed to report independent expenditures in connection with the influence campaign; (2) Trump and the Trump Committee knowingly solicited, accepted, or received an in-kind foreign national contribution from the Russian Federation, or coordinated with the Russian Federation, in connection with a statement Trump made at a press conference, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press”; (3) the Russian Federation made a prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution to the Trump Committee by expending resources to hack servers related to Trump’s electoral opponent, Hillary Clinton, in response to Trump’s press conference statement; (4) the Committee knowingly solicited a prohibited in-kind contribution from WikiLeaks in the form of allegedly hacked emails about Clinton, (5) the Russian Federation made a prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution by providing hacked documents to an unknown congressional candidate, later identified as H. Russell Taub, (6) Taub knowingly solicited, accepted or received a prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution by requesting from a foreign national hacked documents concerning his opponent, (7) Manafort and the Trump Committee transferred a campaign committee asset without charge or knowingly solicited a prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution arising out of campaign polling data that Manafort allegedly sent to foreign nationals, and (8) Cambridge Analytica, LLC provided information to the Russian Federation in the form of illegally sourced social profiles.
DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that Taub, previously identified in this matter as the Unknown Congressional Candidate, knowingly solicited, accepted or received a prohibited in-kind foreign national contribution in the form of opposition research related to his opponent. Due to his financial condition, including a large restitution obligation from a separate criminal matter, the Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for Taub to pay no civil penalty. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the allegations in connection with the Russian Federation and Internet Research Agency. The Commission dismissed the allegation that Cambridge Analytica, LLC provided information to the Russian Federation. The Commission closed the file in connection with the remaining allegations and respondents. Chairman Dickerson and Commissioners Cooksey and Trainor and Commissioners Broussard and Weintraub issued Statements of Reasons. Chairman Dickerson issued a supplemental Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7890

COMPLAINANT: Campaign Legal Center
RESPONDENTS: Service Tire Truck Centers, Inc. (STTC); and Senate Leadership Fund and Caleb Crosby, in his official capacity as Treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that STTC violated the federal contractor prohibition of the Act and Commission regulations when it made a prohibited $50,000 contribution to the Committee. The complaint also raised questions as to whether the Committee violated the Act by knowingly soliciting a contribution from a federal contractor.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegation that STTC made a prohibited federal contractor contribution as an act of prosecutorial discretion and found no reason to believe that the Committee knowingly solicited a prohibited federal contractor contribution. Chairman Dickerson and Commissioners Cooksey and Trainor issued a Statement of Reasons.

MUR 7465 (Freedom Vote, Inc.; Fighting for Ohio Fund and Christopher M. Marston, in his official capacity as treasurer; and James S. Nathanson) On February 16, the Commission made public a Concurring Statement from Commissioner Caroline C. Hunter, dated July 2, 2020.

Regulations and agency procedures

Proposed Rule of Agency Procedure Concerning the Treatment of Foreign State Respondents at the Initiation of the Enforcement Process. On February 17, the Commission approved a Proposed Rule of Agency Procedure submitted by Chairman Dickerson for situations involving foreign state respondents in enforcement matters. The proposed rule would require the Commission’s Office of General Counsel to notify the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State at the initiation of the Commission’s enforcement process when a foreign state has been identified as a respondent to a complaint filed with the Commission.

Audits

Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Democracy Engine, Inc. PAC. On February 17, the Commission voted on an Audit Division Recommendation Memorandum on the Democracy Engine, Inc. PAC, covering campaign finance activity from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. The Commission did not approve the memorandum, which recommended findings related to failure to maintain a bank depository, inaccurate disclosure of Statement of Organization, and failure to maintain records sufficient to verify reported activity, by the requisite four votes.

Public Disclosure

On February 18, the Office of the Inspector General made public a Snapshot of Open Recommendations.

Litigation

Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 20-730) On February 16, Right to Rise Super PAC, Inc. filed a Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Outreach

On February 17, Deputy Press Officer Christian Hilland and Public Affairs Specialist Myles Martin spoke by video conference on the Commission’s role and disclosure systems with journalism students at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Press releases

FEC approves proposed rule of agency procedure concerning foreign state respondents (issued February 17)

Upcoming Commission meetings

March 8 and 10, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 10, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

March 22 and 24, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

March 24, 2022: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.

Upcoming educational programs

On February 23, the Commission will host an FECConnect On Topic session on 2022 filing dates.

On March 9 and 16, the Commission will host webinars on independent expenditures.

March 23, 2022: The Commission will host a webinar for candidate committees.

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

Upcoming reporting due dates

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

Status of agency operations

See the Commission’s statement on the status of agency operations, updated on April 15, 2021. At this stage, most agency staff remain in telework status and the Commission’s office remains closed to visitors. See also the agency’s Workplace Safety Plan, dated May 6, 2021.

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.

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.