Week of September 23 - 27, 2019*

Commission meetings and hearings

The Commission voted to cancel the executive session scheduled for September 24 and the open meeting scheduled for September 26.

Enforcement

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

MURs 6960 & 6991

COMPLAINANTS: National Republican Congressional Committee; and Republican National Committee
RESPONDENTS: Roger A. Stone; and SW Technologies, LLC d/b/a Advocacy Data (SWT)
SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that SWT, a political marketing firm, and Stone, SWT’s founder, president and CEO, violated the sales and use provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), by compiling a commercial mailing list using the names and addresses of contributors obtained from FEC disclosure reports, which was then used to make solicitations.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for SWT to pay a civil penalty of $25,000 and dismissed the allegations as to Stone.

MUR 7508

COMPLAINANT: Robert Secaur
RESPONDENTS: Friends of Sherrod Brown and Judith Zamore, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Whirlpool Corporation (Whirlpool)
SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Whirlpool made and the Committee accepted a prohibited in-kind corporate contribution when Whirlpool employees were depicted in a Committee campaign advertisement.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations and closed the file. The Commission noted that the record indicated that Whirlpool specifically declined the Committee’s request to film on its property and requested that the Committee clarify that the appearance of the Whirlpool logo and employees in the ad did not amount to an endorsement by Whirlpool.

MUR 7545

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: Tea Party Majority Fund and Scott B. Mackenzie, in his official capacity as treasurer (TPMF)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe TPMF failed to provide supporting schedules on its disclosure reports for independent expenditures totaling over $1.8 million made during the 2016 election cycle, including disclosure of debts and filing of 48-Hour Reports.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for TPMF to amend its reports to reflect independent expenditures and debts accurately at all times and to pay a civil penalty of $100,000.

MUR 7611

COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
RESPONDENT: American Delta Party and Suzan Korth, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
SUBJECT: In the normal course of carrying out its supervisory responsibilities, the Commission initiated proceedings to determine whether there was reason to believe the Committee received an excessive contribution of $25,000 from an individual and a $7,000 prohibited contribution from a limited liability corporation disclosed on its 2016 August Monthly Report.
DISPOSITION: The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the Committee to pay a civil penalty of $5,500.

MUR 7270 (Comite Pierluisi, Inc. and Hector Del Rio Jimenez, in his official capacity as treasurer) The Commission made public a Statement of Reasons by former Commissioner Lee E. Goodman, dated September 6, 2017.

Administrative Fines

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

3482
Eric for Us and Elizabeth Perez, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $445.

3483
Daniel Freilich for Congress and Sondra Tova Freilich, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $291.

3484
Angie Chirino for Congress and Jorge Mirabent, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

3485
Deedra 2018 for US Senate and Marlene Binnion, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $630.

3486
Committee to Elect Tahirah Amatul-Wadud and Yasmin Tempro, in her official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,702.

3488
Mindi for Congress and Justin Messmer, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,387.

3565
Jill Stein for President and Steven Welzer, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $728.

Litigation

Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 19-5117) On September 27, Independent Voter Project, Admiral James Stavridis, Senator Joseph Robert Kerrey, Senator Joseph Isadore Lieberman, the Honorable Clarine Nardi Riddle, the Honorable David M. Walker, and the Honorable Christine Todd Whitman filed a Corrected Amici Curiae Brief in support of Appellants. FairVote and the Coalition for Free and Open Elections filed an Amici Curiae Brief in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Nonprofit Leaders, Scholars and Practitioners filed a Corrected Amici Curiae Brief in support of Plaintiffs-Appellants in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Libertarian National Committee v. FEC (Case No. 19-234) On September 24, The Cato Institute, The Institute for Free Speech, and the Goldwater Institute filed Amici Curiae Briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Petitioner.

Outreach

On September 23, Chair Ellen L. Weintraub discussed the role and work of the Commission with students from Fairport High School in Rochester, NY.

On September 26, the Commission issued the Statistical Summary of Six-Month Campaign Activity of the 2019-2020 Cycle.

Oversight hearing

Chair Weintraub, Commissioner Caroline C. Hunter, and Commissioner Steven T. Walther each provided written testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on House Administration. A hearing before the Committee originally scheduled for September 25 has been postponed until an as yet undetermined later date.

Commissioners’ statements

On September 26, Chair Weintraub issued a statement on a Draft Interpretive Rule Concerning Prohibited Activities Involving Foreign Nationals.

On October 1, Commissioner Hunter issued a statement on Consideration of Matters Without a Quorum.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

October 16: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

October 17: 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

October 15: October Quarterly reports are due. For more information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.

October 20: October Monthly reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2019 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Upcoming educational programs

On October 2, Commission staff will host reporting and FECFile webinars for candidate committees.

On October 29-30, the Commission will host a Regional Conference in San Diego, CA for candidates, political parties, and political action 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 2019 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 2019 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. 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.

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 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.

*This Weekly Digest was updated on October 1 to include a Statement from Commissioner Hunter.