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Federal Election Commission | United States of America

Michael E. Toner

Headshot of
Republican
March 2002 to March 2007

Biography

Michael E. Toner was nominated to the Federal Election Commission by President George W. Bush on March 4, 2002 and appointed on March 29, 2002. Mr. Toner was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 18, 2003.

Prior to being appointed to the FEC, Mr. Toner served as Chief Counsel of the Republican National Committee. Mr. Toner joined the RNC in 2001 after serving as General Counsel of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team in Washington, DC and General Counsel of the Bush-Cheney 2000 Presidential Campaign in Austin, TX.

Before joining the Bush campaign in Austin, Mr. Toner was Deputy Counsel at the RNC from 1997-1999. Prior to his tenure at the RNC, Mr. Toner served as Counsel to the Dole/Kemp Presidential Campaign in 1996.

Mr. Toner was an associate attorney at Wiley, Rein, & Fielding in Washington, DC from 1992-1996. His work there included advising political committees and corporate clients on federal and state election law compliance. He was also involved in a number of First and Fourteenth Amendment appellate litigation matters, including two cases that were successful in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Toner has written widely on campaign finance matters, including in the Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Times, The Hill, and Roll Call. Mr. Toner is a contributing author in the recent book Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election (edited by Professor Larry J. Sabato, University of Virginia Center for Politics). Mr. Toner has also appeared as a guest commentator on Fox News Channel, Bloomberg News and C-SPAN.

Mr. Toner has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the William and Mary Law School and as a lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Toner received a J.D. cum laude from Cornell Law School in 1992, an M.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1989, and a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia in 1986. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia bars, as well as the United States Supreme Court bar, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia.

Statements and Opinions

Advisory opinions

  • Dissenting Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2006-10, EchoStar Satellite, September 28, 2006 (PDF)
  • Dissenting Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2006-04, Tancredo for Congress, May 18, 2006 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2005-18, The Honorable Silvestre Reyes, December 2, 2005 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2005-10, The Honorable Howard L. Berman and The Honorable John T. Doolittle, August 29, 2005 (PDF)
  • Dissenting Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2005-01, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, March 14, 2005 (PDF)
  • Dissenting Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2004-43, Missouri Broadcasters Association, February 17, 2005 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2004-01, Alice Forgy Kerr for Congress, February 2, 2004 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2003-25, Jonathan Weinzapfel, December 8, 2003 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2003-24, National Center for Tobacco Free Kids, October 27, 2003 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2003-17, James Treffinger, August 29, 2003 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2003-10, Rory Reid and the Nevada State Democratic Party, June 12, 2003 (PDF)
  • Concurring Opinion, Advisory Opinion 2002-09, Target Wireless, September 3, 2002 (PDF)

Audits

  • Legislative Recommendations Regarding the Presidential Public Funding Program, February 9, 2005 (PDF)
  • Legislative Recommendations Regarding the Presidential Public Funding Program, April 16, 2003 (PDF)

Enforcement

  • MUR 5651, Gallagher, September 25, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5721, Lockheed Martin, August 1, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5600, Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, June 30, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5721, Lockheed Martin, June 14, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5595, World Class Gun Shows, April 7, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5569, John Kobylt, March 17, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5555, Dave Ross, March 17, 2006 (PDF)
  • ADRs 264 and 293, Brady for Congress and Thelma Drake for Congress, January 5, 2006 (PDF)
  • MUR 5453, Salvatore Trovato, December 20, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5468R, George Moretz for Congress, December 7, 2005 (PDF)
  • ADR 271/MUR 5649, Taff for Congress, November 10, 2005 (PDF)
  • Administrative Fine #549, Lovely v. Federal Election Commission, October 11, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5523, Local 12, United Assoc. Plumbers & Gasfitters Bldg. Corp., September 22, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5533, Michigan Republican State Central Committee and Nader for President, August 18, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5491, Jerry Falwell Ministries and The Liberty Alliance, July 22, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5573 / Pre-MUR 416, Westar Energy, July 21, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5540, CBS Broadcasting and Kerry Edwards 2005, July 12, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5183, People United, May 23, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5461, Fan_the_Vote.com, April 12, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5432, Stephanie Summers-O'Neal, April 7, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5420, Conz-Diaz Champion Racing, March 10, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5522, Wisconsin Right to Life, February 18, 2005 (PDF)
  • MUR 5409, Grover Norquist, November 12, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5467, Michael Moore, August 2, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5321, Mary Robert, July 1, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5146, Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, June 25, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5275, Unknown Respondents, April 5, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5089, Matta Tuchman for Congress, April 1, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5024, Council for Responsible Government, January 13, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5250, NRCC Economic Recovery Workshop, January 7, 2004 (PDF)
  • MUR 5181, Spirit of America, December 12, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5154, Sierra Club, Inc., December 6, 2003 (PDF)
  • MURs 4831 and 5274, Missouri Democratic State Committee, December 4, 2003 (PDF)
  • MURs 4831 and 5274, Missouri Democratic State Committee, December 1, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 4735, Bordonaro for Congress, December 1, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5272, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, November 12, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5307, Friends of a Democratic White House, Et al, October 9, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5261, Clear Channel Communications, October 9, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5315, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., September 25, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5369, Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee and Lincoln Chafee for U.S. Senate, August 15, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5138, Ferguson for Congress, June 12, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5254, Hampden-Sydney College, Et al, June 11, 2003 (PDF)
  • ADR 046B and ADR 046C, Custom Concrete Cutting, Inc. and Seven-Up Bottling Company of Reno, May 28, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5338, Leadership Forum, April 28, 2003 (PDF)
  • Administrative Fine #560, Giordano for United States Senate, March 13, 2003 (PDF)
  • MUR 5224, The Boston Globe, Et al, September 3, 2002 (PDF)

Rulemaking and litigation

  • Opening Statement, Final Vote on Internet Regulations, March 27, 2006 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Public Hearing on Proposed Internet Regulations, June 28-29, 2005 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Internet Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, March 24, 2005 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Public Hearing on Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Political Committee Status, April 14, 2004 (PDF)
  • Comments, Proposed Rules Regarding Political Committee Status, March 4, 2004 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Public Hearing on Enforcement Procedures, June 11, 2003 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Proposed Rules Regarding National Conventions and Presidential Candidates, June 6, 2003 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Proposed Rules Regarding National Conventions and Presidential Candidates, April 3, 2003 (PDF)
  • Comments Regarding Draft Electioneering Communications NPRM, August 1, 2002 (PDF)
  • Comments, Final Soft Money Regulations, June 22, 2002 (PDF)
  • Opening Statement, Final Consideration of Soft Money Regulations, June 19, 2002 (PDF)
  • Statement, Public Hearing on Prohibited and Excessive Contributions, Non-Federal Funds or Soft Money, June 4, 2002 (PDF)

Media and appearances

Article

  • Article, "FEC Was Right To Allow Soft Money in Calif. Initiatives," Roll Call, September 13, 2005 [PDF]
  • Editorial, "Observing the Restricted Speech Zone," Roll Call, September 26, 2006 [HTML]
  • Editorial, "Congress Should Pass Hensarling's Bill on Politics and the Internet," Roll Call, March 14, 2006 [HTML]
  • Editorial (with Commissioner Scott E. Thomas), "Modernizing the Presidential Public Financing System,"The Hill, December 7, 2005 [HTML]
  • Editorial, "Pass Pence-Wynn So We Can Fix Coordinated Expenditures," Roll Call, June 15, 2005 [HTML]
  • Letter to the Editor, "The Soft-Money Ban," The New York Times, August 28, 2005 [PDF]
  • Letter to the Editor, "527 Rules Needed Now," Roll Call, January 27, 2004 [PDF]
  • Editorial, "Congress Should Overhaul Presidential Funding System," Roll Call, October 16, 2003 [PDF]
  • Editorial, "Presidential Financing System Needs Overhaul," Chicago Tribune, September 28, 2003 [PDF]
  • Editorial, "Soft Money for Party Conventions," Boston Globe, August 7, 2003 [PDF]
  • Editorial, "Reforming Campaign Finance," Washington Post, July 6, 2003 [PDF]
  • Letter to the Editor, "Soft Money Rule," New York Times, June 25, 2002 [PDF]

Speeches

  • Speech, Campaign Finance Institute, Task Force of Financing Presidential Nominations, January 31, 2003 [PDF]

Testimony

  • Testimony on Indian Tribes and the Federal Election Campaign Act Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, February 8, 2006 [PDF]
  • Testimony Regarding Regulation of On-Line Political Speech Before the House Administration Committee, September 22, 2005 [PDF]
  • Testimony before the Committee on House Administration, May 20, 2004 [PDF]