Week of September 17 – September 21, 2018*

Commission meetings and hearings

No executive sessions or open meetings were scheduled this week.

Advisory opinions

Requests received

Advisory Opinion Request 2018-12 (Defending Digital Campaigns, Inc.)

On September 17, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2018-12. Defending Digital Campaigns, Inc. asks whether it or its private sector sponsors and partners may provide candidate and political party committees with certain free resources and training to protect those committees from cyberattack and infiltration. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than September 27, 2018) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by November 5, 2018.

Advisory Opinion Request 2018-13 (OsiaNetwork LLC)

On September 21, 2018, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion request 2018-13. OsiaNetwork LLC asks whether individuals’ use of the processing power of their internet-enabled devices to mine cryptocurrency for the benefit of political committees is considered a volunteer activity under Commission regulations. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than October 1, 2018) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by November 19, 2018.

Advisory Opinion Request 2018-14 (Oldenburg)

On September 21, 2018, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2018-14. Requestor John Oldenburg, a contractor with the U.S. Postal Service, asks whether he is considered a “federal contractor” under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and therefore prohibited from making contributions to candidates and federal PACS. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than October 1, 2018) and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, by November 12, 2018.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7106

• COMPLAINANT: Michelle C. Clay
• RESPONDENTS: Maria Chappelle-Nadal; Citizens for Maria Chappelle-Nadal and Deandress Green, in her official capacity as treasurer (State Committee); Chappelle-Nadal for Congress and George Lenard in his official capacity as treasurer (Federal Committee); Spectrum Reach TM; Madeline Buthod; Patty Ellison-Brown; Donna Baringer; and Sandy Tsai
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Chappelle-Nadal and the Federal and State Committees violated the soft money provisions of the Act by using the State Committee to make in-kind contributions and transfers to the Federal Committee. The complaint also alleged that the Federal Committee failed to report the transactions, and that several state and local candidates in Missouri, as well as a media vendor and a campaign contributor, violated the Act’s ban on the use of nonfederal money, raised outside the and prohibitions of federal campaign finance law, through their involvement with the State and Federal Committees. Chappelle-Nadal was a 2016 candidate for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found reason to believe that Chappelle-Nadal and the State Committee violated the Act when the state committee used impermissible funds to make donations to other state and local political committees after Chappelle-Nadal became a federal candidate. The Commission entered into a conciliation agreement providing for the State Committee to pay a civil penalty of $15,000. The Commission found no reason to believe the Federal Committee violated the Act because there was no evidence that it received impermissible nonfederal contributions from the State Committee while Chappelle-Nadal was a federal candidate. The Commission also found no reason to believe Spectrum Reach TM violated the Act because available information indicated that the State Committee did not pay Spectrum Reach TM for a television ad connected to Chappelle-Nadal’s federal candidacy. The Commission further found no reason to believe Buthod, Ellison-Brown, or Baringer violated the Act because they were not federal candidates subject to the limits of the Act, Finally, the Commission found no reason to believe Tsai violated the Act because the record contained no information suggesting that the State Committee paid to solicit Tsai for her subsequent contribution to the Federal Committee.

MUR 7402

• COMPLAINANT: Elmer Bowman
• RESPONDENTS: Scott Wallace for Congress and Tom Taft, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); and Henry Scott Wallace
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that the Committee failed to file a Statement of Organization in a timely manner after it had made expenditures in excess of $5,000 in support of Wallace’s candidacy. Wallace is a 2018 candidate for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.
• DISPOSITION: The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in furtherance of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that it was likely that any delay in filing the Statements of Candidacy and Organization was short, and it noted that the Committee reported the video production expenditure at issue in its 2018 April Quarterly Report.

Administrative fines

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

AF 3367

Danny Nguyen for Congress and Mark Kingston in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission voted to take no further action and close the file.

Alternative dispute resolution

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

ADR 876

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  RESPONDENT: National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Political Action Comm and Matthew S. Tassey in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
• SUBJECT: The Committee failed to disclose all financial activity on its 2017 Year-End Report, originally filed on January 31, 2018. On February 19, 2018, the Committee filed an Amended 2017 Year-End Report disclosing $208,089.33 in additional disbursements.
• DISPOSITION: The Committee agreed to certify that a representative of the organization participated in an FEC conference, webinar, or other program developed in consultation with the FEC’s Information Division, and to pay a civil penalty of $3,800.

Litigation

• Center for Public Integrity v. FEC (Case No. 17-1162) On September 18, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order granting the Commission’s motion for summary judgment and denying the Plaintiff’s cross-motion.
• CREW et al. v. FEC (Case No. 18-5136) On September 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Per Curiam Order granting Plaintiff-Appellee CREW’s motion to dismiss.
• Crossroads GPS v. CREW (Case No. 18-5261) On September 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an Order denying Crossroads GPS’ Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal.
• Crossroads GPS v. CREW (Case No. 18A-274) On September 15, Respondents CREW and Nicholas Mezlak filed a Response in Opposition to Emergency Application to Chief Justice Roberts, Circuit Justice for the District of Columbia, for a Stay Pending Appeal in the Supreme Court. On that same date, Chief Justice Roberts issued an Order staying the order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (16-259) pending further order of the Chief Justice or the Supreme Court. On September 18, the Supreme Court issued an Order denying the application for stay and vacating the prior stay order of the Chief Justice.
• FEC v. Johnson, et al. (Case No. 15-439) On September 20, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division issued a Partial Final Judgment in favor of Defendant John Swallow.

Reports to Congress

• On September 18, Chair Caroline C. Hunter submitted on behalf of the Commission the FEC Report to the Committees on Appropriations on Enforcing the Foreign National Prohibition, outlining the Commission’s role in enforcing the foreign national prohibition, how the Commission identifies foreign contributions to elections, and the agency’s future plans to continue these efforts.
• On September 18, Chair Caroline C. Hunter and Commissioners Matthew S. Petersen and Steven T. Walther replied to a June 12, 2018 letter from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, ranking member of the Committee on Rules and Administration, regarding the Commission’s administration and enforcement of the foreign national prohibition.
• On September 20, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub replied to the June 12, 2018 letter from Sen. Klobuchar regarding the Commission’s actions on foreign nationals.

Reporting

• On September 21, President Trump signed legislation that requires Senate filers to file campaign finance disclosure reports with the Commission, rather than with the Secretary of the Senate, making Senate reports subject to the same electronic filing requirements as other committees.

Press releases

• Chief Justice grants emergency stay in CREW v. FEC, regulation remains in effect (Issued September 17)
• U.S. Supreme Court vacates stay in CREW v. FEC (Issued September 18)
• FEC welcomes new Senate electronic filing requirement (Issued September 21)

Rulemakings and agency procedures

On September 17, the Commission published a Notification of Availability in the Federal Register in response to a petition asking the Commission to revise and amend the existing regulation concerning the personal use of campaign funds by federal candidates and officeholders to specify that the regulation applies to leadership PAC funds. The Commission seeks public comment on the petition on or before November 16, 2018. For more information on the petition and how to submit comments, see the Commission’s Record article.

Trainings

• On October 3-4, the Commission will offer reporting and FECFile webinars for candidates, PACs, and party committees.

For more information, see the Commission’s Trainings page.

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• September 25 and 27 2018: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.

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 2018 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.

October 20: October Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2018 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.

Additional research materials

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 2018 edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) are now 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 2017 Campaign Guide for Corporations and Labor Organizations is available. Other Campaign Guides are available, as well.

The 2018 Congressional Primary Election Dates list is available.

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 2017 edition of 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 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 mediums has not been authorized by the FEC.

*The Digest was updated on October 22, 2018, to provide information on how long the comment period is open for AOR 2018-13 (OsiaNetwork LLC) and the date by which the Commission is required to issue an opinion.