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  • Press Release

District Court issues opinion in Public Citizen, et al. v FEC

March 17, 2021

WASHINGTON – The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in Public Citizen, et al. v. FEC (Case 14-00148), granting the Commission’s and Intervenor-Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

The lawsuit, filed on January 31, 2014, challenged the Commission’s dismissal of the Plaintiffs’ administrative complaint against Crossroads Grassroots Political Strategies (MUR 6396). The complaint had alleged that Crossroads GPS violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), by not registering and reporting as a political committee. The Commission lacked the required votes to open an investigation and the matter was dismissed. The Court held that the dismissal was not subject to judicial review.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance laws. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. Established in 1975, the FEC is composed of six Commissioners who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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