Enforcement
News & Commentary | Archive The statute increases penalties for certain violations, and also creates a framework for more active criminal enforcement of the law. Criminal sentencing standards for campaign finance violations have been established, and the statute of limitations for criminal liability has been extended to 5 years. The FEC and the Department of Justice have begun developing a new protocol or agreement governing their shared responsibility for enforcement of the law. FEC Hearing: A New Year's Resolution?The FEC has decided to do a very good deed: it is holding a hearing on avenues of self-inprovement. On January 14, 2008, it will invite testimony on how it might "improve transparency, fairness and efficiency". The whole range of processes will be under review, from formal enforcement processes to "policies, practices and procedures". Written comments are due January 5, to include requests to testify.
(12/16/08) Read More Chairman McGahn and the Old College TryThe Federal Election Commission is about to meet on an Advisory Opinion Request filed by the restless Jim Bopp, who wants to know which independent ads against Senator Obama will qualify for free, corporate financing under Supreme Court standards.The ads contest Senator Obama's record on a state Senate vote, and one asks him to apologize for what is declared to be a misrepresentation about the vote, while the other closes with the tagline that he is not a candidate "whose word" you can believe in.
(10/23/08) Read More "Voter Fraud" as Wedge Issue: the DOJ Report on the US Attorney FiringsThe Department of Justice Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility’s Report on the US Attorney firings is not a full-dress treatment of the topic, having been hampered by key witnesses’ refusal to submit to interviews. It is a measure of the crudity and clumsiness of these firings that, on only the information that could be gathered, a clear picture of illicit motives and grubby tactics emerges. In this election season, as we hear more about "fraud", the report is a reminder of the raw politics behind these assertions
(10/1/08) Read More Brad Smith Replies on Criminal Enforcement of the Campaign Finance LawsBrad Smith replies to this post with a defense of the proposition that DOJ rightly eschews criminal enforcement of 527 activity. He makes a variety of thoughtful arguments and in variety he expects to find cohesion and strength.
(9/30/08) Read More CCP v. Democracy 21, on 527 Enforcement and the Role of DOJFred Wetheimer at Democracy 21 has registered the same objection made here to comments by the official in charge of the Election Crimes Branch about criminal enforcement of 527 regulations. In a letter to the Attorney General, Wertheimer complains that these comments, suggesting that enforcement was not appropriate, conflict with commitments previously made at the urging of Democracy 21: he does not accept that rules can be flouted but the violations go unenforced as a matter of Department policy. Wertheimer demands that the official in question, Craig Donsanto, be removed from decision-making responsibility over enforcement matters. The Center for Competitive Politics then took off after Wertheimer, jabbing at him for criminalizing complex questions of constitutional law.
(9/29/08) Read More Also...The McCain Matching Fund Case: Part Two 8/18/08 A New Agency and Its Policy Choices 7/16/08 FEC Commissioners and Their "One Term" 6/17/08 New Year's Eve 12/31/07 Holiday Tip 12/27/07 A Season of Reform Priorities 12/21/07 No Barking in the Night about the FEC 12/20/07 "Clean and Fair" 12/18/07 Christmas Past, Present and Future at the Federal Election Commission 12/17/07 |