Ben Smith writes on Politico: The wheels of the FEC can grind slow, but they just made their way to Al Sharpton's 2004 presidential campaign, and to fining him $497,000 for illegal contributions, according to MoneyLine.

The Rev.'s spokeswoman, Rachel Noerdlinger, sends over a defiant statement, saying that what the FEC takes as illegal contributions to the campaign were in fact contributions to Sharpton's nonprofit, the National Action Network; and also the fairly novel point that, since certain American Express bills in question remain unpaid, those expenditures should be excluded.

"We must have election rules that are for Senators and Congress people, or Joe the Plumber, or Al the Preacher," the statement ventures. -- Ben Smith's Blog: 'Al the Preacher' vs. FEC - Politico.com

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Politico reports: The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul.

Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend.

Obama is expected to escape that level of scrutiny mostly because he declined an $84 million public grant for his campaign that automatically triggers an audit and because the sheer volume of cash he raised and spent minimizes the significance of his errors. Another factor: The FEC, which would have to vote to launch an audit, is prone to deadlocking on issues that inordinately impact one party or the other – like approving a messy and high-profile probe of a sitting president.

McCain, on the other hand, accepted the $84 million in taxpayer money, which not only barred him from raising or spending more – allowing Obama to fund many times more ads and ground operations – but also will keep his lawyers busy for a couple years explaining how every penny was spent. -- Obama likely to escape campaign audit

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The Trail blog of the Washington Post reports: The FEC sent a letter to Sen. John McCain's campaign treasurer Sept. 30 demanding the candidate turn over more information about "contributions that appear to exceed the limits."

The letter is accompanied by a nine-page list showing scores of overages from McCain's August campaign finance report, including nearly $13,000 from Texas rancher Ray R. Barrett Jr.; $9,200 from an Iraqi security consultant, H. Carter Andress; and $5,000 from Joseph F. Davolio, an executive at a major national liquor, beer and wine distributor.

"Please inform the Commission of your corrective action immediately in writing and provide photocopies of any refund checks and/or letters reattributing or redesignating the contributions in question," the letter from the FEC's senior campaign finance analyst, Leah S. Palmer, says. "The acceptance of excessive contributions is a serious problem." -- FEC Queries McCain Campaign on 'Excessive Contributions' | The Trail | washingtonpost.com

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The New York Times reports: The Republican National Committee plans to file a complaint on Monday against Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign raising questions about the legitimacy of its small contributions and donations from overseas.

Republican officials are demanding the Federal Election Commission conduct a full audit of the Obama campaign’s donations, although it appears that no action would be taken, even if the commission found merit in the complaint, until after the November election.

The Obama campaign has been powered in large part by small-dollar contributions, with donations of $200 or less accounting for more than $220 million of the record-breaking $450 million it has collected so far.

But such donations do not have to be itemized in reporting to the election commission unless the donor’s total contributions exceed $200. The lack of information on such donors has been highlighted by watchdog groups as potentially troublesome. The groups have also praised the campaign of Senator John McCain for offering on its Web site a tool that allows a search of all of its donors, including those who gave less than $200. -- G.O.P. to File Complaint Over Donations

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A New York Times report begins: The A.F.L.-C.I.O and three other pro-labor groups will urge the Federal Election Commission on Thursday to rule that Wal-Mart acted illegally by warning many store managers and department heads that a Democratic victory in November would hurt the company by helping workers unionize.

The pro-labor groups plan to file a complaint with the commission on Thursday asserting that Wal-Mart warned so vigorously that the Democrats would enact pro-union legislation that the company had engaged in illegal express advocacy.

The pro-labor organizations — including the Change to Win Federation, American Rights at Work and WakeUpWalMart.com — argue that federal regulations make it legal for companies to engage in such political advocacy with high-level managers, but not with low-level managers like Wal-Mart’s department heads, who are often hourly employees. ...

In their complaint, the four groups cite an article in The Wall Street Journal, which said that Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, was mobilizing its store managers and department heads around the country to warn that if the Democrats win, they are likely to enact a law that makes it easier for workers to unionize Wal-Mart and other companies. -- Groups to File Complaint Against Wal-Mart

Jurist Paper Chase links to a copy of the complaint.

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The Arizona Republic reports: The Arizona Republican Party has accused Democrat Bob Lord of violating fundraising laws in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission.

The complaint was filed last week and became public earlier this week.

Lord, an attorney, is challenging seven-term Congressman John Shadegg in Congressional District 3. Lord has raised more than $1 million, far more than any previous Shadegg opponent.

Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republicans, said in a letter to the commission that Lord apparently counted donations received after the June 30 reporting deadline as part of the funds raised by the deadline. Pullen said that violates the law. -- The rules of reporting funds at issue in Shadegg-Lord race

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From a DNC press release: The Democratic National Committee today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in D.C. to compel the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate John McCain's decision to unilaterally withdraw from the FEC's matching funds program despite using the program to financially benefit his campaign - just one of many McCain campaign improprieties. To view a copy of the DNC's lawsuit, please visit: http://www.democrats.org/page/-/pdf/DNCFECMcCain_062408.pdf.

John McCain talks about setting a new standard for "transparency and accountability" yet when it comes to his campaign, he doesn't seem to think the rules apply to him. First, he used taxpayer dollars to secure a loan to keep his campaign afloat in the primary, a move that's clearly against the law. Then the Wall Street Journal reported that McCain refused to pay for his campaign's use of a corporate jet - again against the law - and last week, his trip to Canada came under question for possible violations of federal law.

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The New York Sun reports: An environmental group has filed federal disclosure reports on almost $710,000 worth of advertisements lobbying lawmakers in advance of a key vote on climate change legislation. However, the Environmental Defense Action Fund is not disclosing who donated the money for the television spots.

The belated reports arrived at the Federal Election Commission three days after an article in The New York Sun noted the group's legal obligation to file because some of the ads mentioned the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, within 30 days of a primary she faced on June 3. Other ads in what the group described as a $4 million campaign to promote a so-called cap-and-trade bill ran in advance of primary elections for Senator Dole in North Carolina and Senator Pryor in Arkansas, according to the federal filings, which are supposed to be filed within 24 hours of airing a reportable ad.

"We just goofed," a spokesman for the environmental group, Keith Gaby, said. "We've never in my experience done TV ads with members' names in them, so we're just not familiar with the territory. We found out from your question that we had to do it."

The explanation did not mollify an official at the Club for Growth, an antitax group that mounted a smaller $250,000 TV campaign against the climate change measure. -- Group Files Climate Change Ad Disclosures After Delay - June 18, 2008 - The New York Sun

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CNNPolitics.com reports: The Democratic National Committee said Tuesday it plans to file a lawsuit next week to try to force a federal investigation over whether John McCain’s withdrawal from the public financing system violated the law – the latest move in an effort that dates back to February, when the Arizona senator effectively clinched the Republican presidential nomination.

Democrats say McCain’s decision to use the promise of federal matching funds as collateral to keep his financially struggling campaign afloat late last year prevents him from withdrawing from the system – and its strict spending requirements – now that he is on sounder financial footing. --

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AP reports: A group that supports public financing of campaigns filed a federal complaint against John McCain s presidential campaign Monday, calling for an investigation into two financial transactions involving two top McCain aides.

The Federal Election Commission complaint by Campaign Money Watch, a group that has received financing from Democratic leaning donors, questions payments from former finance chair Tom Loeffler to campaign finance director Susan Nelson. It also questions the reduction of a debt to a Web services firm co-owned by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis.

A campaign manager renegotiating a debt with a company he partly owns raises serious conflict of interest questions, said David Donnelly, the director of Campaign Money Watch.

Donnelly also questioned whether Loeffler s payments to Nelson amounted to an illegal subsidy to a campaign staffer. Loeffler is a lobbyist and former congressman and Nelson is a former associate of Loeffler s lobbying firm. The campaign has said the payments, first reported by Newsweek, were for legitimate work and were legal. -- Talking Points Memo | Group files complaint against McCain campaign

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The Detroit News reports: Though acquitted of criminal campaign finance charges, Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger still faces possible civil prosecution by the Federal Elections Commission for reimbursing employees and others for donations to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards.

The commission, which normally will not say whether it is conducting an investigation, confirmed in an April 9, 2007, court filing in a federal civil case that it had opened an inquiry into Fieger in 2006.

Federal officials said this week that civil investigation has been on hold pending the resolution of criminal charges brought against Fieger in 2007. -- Fieger may face civil charges from FEC

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AP reports: Virginia Republican Party chairman John Hager filed a complaint Friday over a Democratic National Committee ad attacking John McCain.

Hager alleged in an affidavit to the Federal Election Commission that the DNC coordinated the ad with the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That would violate federal election law. -- Va. GOP complaint targets DNC ad -- dailypress.com

Note: If anyone has the complaint, please email it or a link to me.

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From a press release: Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it filed a formal complaint, dated April 22, 2008, with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) related to a fundraising luncheon held at London's Spencer House to benefit Senator John McCain's presidential campaign. The venue for the event was apparently donated to the campaign by foreign nationals, in violation of federal campaign finance laws.

"Recent news reports suggest that Sen. John McCain and John McCain for President may have accepted an in-kind contribution from foreign nationals Lord Rothschild OM GBE and the Hon. Nathaniel Rothschild of Great Britain in contravention of federal election laws," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton wrote in a complaint letter dated April 22, 2008. "On behalf of Judicial Watch and its supporters, I hereby request that the FEC investigate the matter." -- Judicial Watch Calls on FEC to Investigate McCain Presidential Fundraising Luncheon Held in London: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

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Judicial Watch has requested that the FEC investigate the Elton John concert-fundraiser for the Clinton Campaign. The problem is that Elton John is not an American citizen. -- Judicial Watch complaint

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Update: The suit has been filed and the complaint is available here.

UPI reports: The Democratic National Committee wants to get its dispute with John McCain s campaign on public financing into the U.S. courts, party officials said.

The committee plans to file suit Monday, asking the U.S. District Court in Washington to order the Federal Election Commission to investigate McCain s decision to reject public financing for the primary, The New York Times reported.

The six-member commission has four vacancies and is unable to take any action because it cannot meet with a quorum. The Democratic majority in Congress has objected to some of President George W. Bush s reappointments. -- Democrats want to sue McCain over loan - UPI.com

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The Courier reports: A state senator has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, arguing congressional candidate Ed Fallon is using his for-profit business to assist his bid for office.

State Sen. Dick Dearden, the Des Moines Democrat who is making the complaint, is backing U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell, who is facing Fallon in the 3rd District Democratic primary. ...

During Fallon s time as a state legislator and his run for governor in 2006, he was a strong advocate for reducing the influence of money in politics.

But Dearden said Fallon s business, I m for Iowa, raises and spends money without having to disclose it.

Dearden also says the group s Web site is being used to further Fallon s campaign. -- Complaint filed against congressional candidate

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The Rocky Mountain News reports: A Washington, D.C.-based group has filed an elections complaint over an ad where school children repeatedly thank U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer for his commitment to charter schools.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says the ad violated election laws in two ways.

The spot was paid for by U.S. Term Limits, a Virginia group, to thank Schaffer for keeping his pledge to serve only three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Schaffer, a Fort Collins Republican, left office in 2002. He faces U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, in the U.S. Senate race.

CREW noted that a written disclaimer at the end of the ad says U.S. Term Limits does not endorse candidates for public office. But when the group posted the ad on YouTube.com, it labeled the spot Bob Schaffer for Senate video. -- Pro-Schaffer ad draws complaint : Elections : The Rocky Mountain News

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AP reports: Alabama state Sen. Harri Anne Smith spent nearly $20,000 from her state campaign account last year on polling and political consulting in her bid for federal office to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Terry Everett, a violation of federal election rules.

Smith, a Republican from Slocomb, said she was not aware of laws prohibiting the mingling of state campaign funds in federal elections and that she immediately contacted the Federal Election Commission to fix the error once she discovered it.

She filed new finance reports with the state and the FEC last month to properly account for the spending.

"We found the mistake and we did everything in our power to correct it," she said in an interview. "The rules are there for people who are intentionally trying to circumvent the law, and that was never our intent. It was just a procedural mistake." -- AP NewsBreak: Ala. state senator mingled state, federal funds - NewsFlash - al.com

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The Daily Herald reports: Accusing Republican congressional candidate Jim Oberweis of attempting to flout campaign finance law, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

Oberweis failed to file a specific FEC form and notify both his Democratic opponent, Bill Foster, and Democratic party leaders within 24 hours of loaning his campaign more than $350,000 -- a requirement under the so-called Millionaire s Amendment in the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Oberweis and Foster are running in the March 8 special election to replace retired U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert in the 14th Congressional District.

Triggering the Millionaire s Amendment turns the race into a virtual financial free-for-all by increasing individual contributors limits from $2,300 to $6,900 and allowing the state and national party committees to dump an unlimited amount of money into their candidate s campaign coffers.

Oberweis campaign officials claim the errors were unintentional. In two separate transactions since the Feb. 5 primary election, Oberweis loaned his campaign $640,000; $300,000 was allocated toward the special election and $340,000 toward the general election, campaign spokesman Bill Pascoe said. -- Daily Herald | Filing flap in the 14th Congressional District race

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Reuters reports: The Democratic Party asked the U.S. government on Monday to investigate whether Republican presidential candidate John McCain has violated campaign-finance laws by exceeding spending limits he agreed to last year.

In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, the Democratic National Committee said McCain has probably surpassed the roughly $50 million limit he agreed to observe when he applied for public funding last year.

McCain, the front-runner for the Republican nomination to contest November s presidential election should not be allowed to withdraw from the public-funding system now that he no longer needs it, the DNC argued. -- Democrats criticize McCain over campaign finance - washingtonpost.com

AP reports: Lawyers for the bank that provided a crucial $4 million line of credit to John McCain's campaign late last year said Monday that the loan agreement was carefully drafted to give McCain the opportunity to withdraw from public financing during the primary elections.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the outside counsel for Fidelity & Trust Bank said the loan terms specifically excluded from the collateral any potential share of public matching funds the Arizona senator was entitled to receive.

The letter, from lawyers Matthew S. Bergman and Scott E. Thomas to McCain lawyer Trevor Potter, supports McCain's stance against claims that his withdrawal from public financing is in jeopardy. -- Bank explains terms of McCain loan

Documents to download:
DNC's complaint
Exhibits 1-3
Exhibit 4
Exhibit 5
Exhibits 6-7

Note: If anyone has the bank's letter to McCain's lawyer, please email it to me.

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The DNC will file a complaint with the FEC on Monday against John McCain for his alleged violations of the campaign finance law.

Former Gov. Howard Dean, chair of the DNC, and Joe Sandler, DNC general counsel, held a press conference Sunday afternoon to announce the complaint. Gov. Dean said that McCain has already benefited from the matching funds program in 2 ways:

First, he used his future receipt of federal matching funds as collateral for a bank loan, but now wishes to withdraw from the matching funds program.

Second, a candidate who has been certified for matching funds gets free ballot access while other candidates must pay.

If McCain is properly considered part of the matching program, then he is likely to be exceeding the spending limits. [The limit for total primary spending is $42.05 million, according to the FEC.]

Dean said, "John McCain has made a career of pretending to be a reformer, but his reforms apply to everyone except him."

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The New York Times reports: A bank loan that Senator John McCain took out late in 2007 to keep his presidential campaign afloat is complicating his desire to withdraw from public financing for his primary effort.

The Federal Election Commission, in a letter it released on Thursday, said Mr. McCain could not withdraw from public financing until he had answered questions about a $4 million line of credit for borrowing that was secured, in part, in December by the promise of federal matching money.

Mr. McCain sent a letter to the commission on Feb. 7 saying he had decided to decline the matching money for his primary campaign. His request for public money, in which the government matches campaign contributions, was made last year as the campaign was running out of cash.

After his fortunes began to rise from his victory New Hampshire and campaign gifts increased, however, Mr. McCain decided against taking the public money. Taking it would have limited his spending between now and the Republican convention in September to $40 million. -- McCain Loan Complicates Financing of Campaign - New York Times

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The Washington Post reports: The campaign of U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) filed a complaint yesterday with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that his leading primary opponent has illegally coordinated her campaign efforts with independent organizations that support her -- charges that she immediately rejected as last-minute electioneering by an embattled incumbent.

In unusually strong language, Wynn accuses Prince George's County lawyer Donna F. Edwards of colluding with a small network of people to affect the outcome of the Feb. 12 election, a closely fought match in Maryland's 4th Congressional District that has received national attention. ...

Edwards, who came within three percentage points of defeating the eight-term incumbent in 2006, has the support of progressive organizations that have targeted Wynn because they think he too often votes with Republicans and accepts contributions from corporate interests. ...

Wynn's complaint, filed by campaign manager Lori Sherwood, contains 34 points and 126 pages of documentation. Among his allegations are that Edwards is being supported by two groups on whose board of directors she has served. -- Wynn Files Campaign Complaint - washingtonpost.com

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The Arizona Republic reports: The Arizona Democratic Party is accusing Republican U.S. Rep. John Shadegg of using his political-action committee to skirt laws that limit the amount of money donors can give a candidate.

Democrats say they have drafted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, but Shadegg maintains nothing was done improperly and doubts whether the FEC will take action.

At issue is money that elections records show was transferred from Shadegg's political-action committee into his election campaign.

Two Valley businessmen who made the maximum allowable individual donations to Shadegg's campaign in 2007 also wrote additional $5,000 checks to Shadegg's PAC, Leadership for America's Future. Eleven days later, on June 26, the PAC wrote two identical $5,000 checks to Shadegg. -- Democrats say Shadegg violated law

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Kos himself quotes on Daily Kos from a press release: The Washington State Democratic Party today filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission regarding serious violations of election law by Congressman Dave Reichert.

On August 27, 2007, President Bush held a $1,000 a head fundraiser in Bellevue on behalf of Congressman Reichert, the proceeds of which were supposed to be placed into a special joint account that would then be divided between the Reichert campaign and the Washington State Republican Party. Instead, much of the money appears to have been deposited directly in Congressman Reichert’s campaign account, a serious violation of FEC rules. The Reichert campaign has also failed to refund at least one contribution in excess of the $4,600 campaign contribution limit for individual donors. -- WA-08: The Reichert/Bush fundraising disaster

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AP reports: A union-financed advocacy group that played a major role in the 2004 elections has agreed to pay a $580,000 fine after the Federal Election Commission concluded it illegally ran advertising against President Bush and in favor of Democrat John Kerry.

In an agreement announced Monday, the FEC said the now inactive Media Fund spent $53.4 million during the contest on television, radio and newspaper ads and direct mail that made reference to Bush or Kerry. The FEC said the fund violated campaign finance laws because it accepted unlimited donations from labor unions and expressly advocated the defeat or victory of a political candidate.

The Media Fund is the latest in a string of so-called 527 organizations the FEC has fined for their activities during the 2004 presidential campaign. They include groups on both sides of the election, including the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth as well as the liberal MoveOn.org.

Lawyers for these groups have argued that at the time of the campaign they believed they were acting within the law. But the FEC has concluded that 527 organizations that stated their desire to influence the presidential election through fundraising, public statements or advertisements violated the law. Such activity, the FEC has said, could only be conducted by political committees registered with the FEC that abide by contribution limits and public disclosure requirements. -- FEC fines group allied with Democrats - Yahoo! News

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From a Public Citizen press release:
Public Citizen today filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the nonprofit group Americans for Job Security (AJS) has violated both the terms of its tax status and federal election law. The complaints, which were also sent to congressional committee leadership as part of a request for an investigation into the issue, ask the IRS to revoke the group’s tax status and the FEC to fine the group for election law violations.

Americans for Job Security is registered under Section 501(c)(6) of the tax code, the category reserved for business leagues and trade associations. Groups that are registered under this section are prohibited from engaging in efforts to influence elections as their primary purpose. But AJS, which maintains no Web site and appears to have only one paid employee, spends millions of dollars on advertisements to influence elections without appearing to engage in any other substantive efforts, according to the complaint. While many groups registered under 501(c) of the tax code participate in some level of electioneering activity and others may have violated the law, Public Citizen has identified AJS as one of the most egregious offenders. In response, Public Citizen is asking that the IRS revoke AJS’s 501(c) status, collect back taxes for its undeclared electioneering activities and require it to pay penalties for violating its tax-exempt status.

The same page has a link to the complaint.

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The Washington Post reports: The three Democrats on the Federal Election Commission revealed yesterday that they strongly believe President Bush exceeded legal spending limits during the 2004 presidential contest and that his campaign owes the government $40 million.

Their concerns spilled out during a vote to approve an audit of the Bush campaign's finances, which is conducted to make sure the campaign adhered to spending rules after accepting $74.6 million in public money for the 2004 general election. ...

The dispute centered on the use of what the commissioners called "hybrid" ads, which were intended to promote both the president and Republican members of Congress. The Bush campaign argued that it should not bear the full cost of these ads, so it split the tab with the Republican Party.

As a result, only half of the cost would count toward spending limits imposed on the campaign when it agreed to take public funds. -- FEC Democrats Say Bush Violated Limits - washingtonpost.com

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The Las Vegas Review Journal reports: The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada for using $3,300 of his campaign funds to give Christmas bonuses to workers at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington.

Reid lives in a condominium at the hotel.

Describing the complaint "a low rated matter" and the amount of money as insignificant, FEC Deputy General Counsel James Kahl urged the commission to "exercise its prosecutorial discretion and dismiss the matter."

Kahl made his recommendation on Feb. 2 and the FEC dismissed the complaint on Feb. 21, according to documents released by Reid's office.

The FEC notified the attorney of Reid's committee about its decision on March 7. -- reviewjournal.com -- News - Officials dismiss Reid charge

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The FEC announces: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Progress for America Voter Fund (PFA-VF), a 527 organization accused of violating Federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 Presidential election. PFA-VF agreed to pay $750,000 to settle charges that it failed to register and file disclosure reports as a Federal political committee and accepted contributions in violation of Federal limits and source prohibitions. This represents the third largest civil penalty in the Commission’s thirty-two year history. The Commission unanimously approved the conciliation agreement.

“This settlement demonstrates once again that the Commission is serious about enforcing the campaign finance law,” said FEC Chairman Robert Lenhard. “It should now be clear to organizations that want to be active in the 2008 cycle that the activities we saw in this case are prohibited under the law.”

PFA-VF raised $44.9 million in contributions in the months preceding the 2004 General Election. Over $41 million of those funds consisted of excessive contributions from individuals, while over $2 million came from sources prohibited from making contributions under the Act. PFA-VF funded over $31.1 million in communications related to the 2004 General Election, including television and radio advertisements, direct mailings, email communications, and Internet banner ads. Certain communications expressly advocated either the election of President George W. Bush or the defeat of Senator John Kerry, constituting expenditures under the Act. -- 0228MUR5487

Thanks to Brett Kappel for sending me the link to this.

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The Hartford Courant reports: The Federal Election Commission is questioning whether Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and Democratic challenger Ned Lamont fully disclosed all their contributions during their U.S. Senate campaigns.

The FEC requests, contained in letters to each campaign, are considered routine. ...

The commission, though, wanted to know about two kinds of details it found lacking in his reports.

In one case, it found "one or more contributions that appear to exceed the limits." The letter advised the senator that any excess needed to be refunded or "redesignated" for another election.

Generally, no individual can give more than $2,100 per candidate per election during the 2006 cycle. -- courant.com | Lieberman, Lamont Questioned On Disclosure Of Contributions

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The Tulsa World reports: A private watchdog group said Friday it has filed an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission against the 2004 campaign of U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., citing "violations" outlined in a previous FEC audit.

Tim Mooney, senior counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called the violations "egregious" and expressed hope the FEC would fine Coburn's campaign.

By filing an official complaint, Mooney said his group would be forcing the hand of the FEC, which already has the authority to launch its own investigation. ...

Released in late January, the FEC audit found that Coburn's campaign accepted contributions that exceeded the legal limit, did not include information on certain contributors as required by law and failed to file proper paperwork on donations totaling $349,100. -- tulsaworld.com: News

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The Washington Post reports: The Federal Election Commission said yesterday that it will police "527" groups, political organizations that largely operated outside the new campaign finance limits during the 2004 presidential election, by looking at how the groups word their appeals for contributions, how they describe themselves, and how they spend their money.

If the groups make clear that they are advocating for or against a specific candidate, the FEC would regulate them. ...

The FEC filed the 44-page explanation of its approach in U.S. District Court yesterday in response to a lawsuit challenging the agency's effectiveness in regulating the independent groups.

Some of the groups, which are called 527s because of their designation in the tax code, raised and spent large sums of money to pay for nuanced political ads that appeared to be intended to skirt the new federal rules. -- FEC to Police '527' Groups' Campaign Activities - washingtonpost.com

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The FEC announces: The complaint alleged that the Leadership Forum was established to help specific Republican House candidates in the 2004 elections and it had become a political committee by accepting contributions and making expenditures for the purpose of influencing specific federal elections. The Commission's investigation found no evidence that The Leadership Forum received contributions or made expenditures that would require registration as a political committee. -- FEC Completes Action on Two Enforcement Cases

Comment: Brett Kappel emailed me about this with the tag line, "527s not dead yet." Somebody who has more time than I do to parse this stuff may be able to explain to me and you why the Leadership Forum did not get fined, but the Swift Boaters and MoveOn.org Voter Fund did.

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The Chicago Tribune reports: Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes' ill-fated 2004 U.S. Senate campaign has agreed to pay $76,500 in civil fines to settle Federal Election Commission complaints for violations involving campaign contributions and reporting, FEC officials said Tuesday.

The violations include accepting campaign contributions in excess of what was allowed by election law to retire campaign debt, failure to adequately report the campaign's debt and failing to get rid of contributions that the FEC determined were illegal, agency officials said.

Hynes, who won election to a third term as comptroller last month, finished second to Barack Obama in the March 2004 Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Candidates in the primary were allowed to raise up to $12,000 from individual donors--six times the normal limit--under recent federal campaign finance law changes aimed at making it easier to compete with wealthy self-funded candidates. ...

The FEC said that even after the primary contest had ended, Hynes continued to raise money at the higher level to retire his campaign debt, even though the higher limits ended once he was no longer a candidate. -- Hynes' Senate campaign will pay FEC to settle complaints | Chicago Tribune

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The Kansas City Star reports: The Federal Election Commission on Wednesday fined Freedom Inc., the Kansas City political club, $45,000 for its involvement in Emanuel Cleaver’s 2004 race for Congress.

The FEC said Freedom was registered as a state political committee but had not registered to engage in federal races, such as Cleaver’s campaign for the 5th District congressional seat. Cleaver won the election. ...

The commission said Freedom spent more than $45,000 on advertising, yard signs and voter guides that expressly advocated Cleaver’s election. -- Kansas City Star | 12/21/2006 | Freedom Inc. fined for Cleaver campaign

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AP reports: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and MoveOn.org Voter Fund, two outside groups that played key roles in the 2004 presidential election, reached an agreement with the Federal Election Commission to pay nearly $450,000 for various violations.

The two groups, along with the League of Conservation Voters, settled charges that they failed "to register and file disclosure reports as federal political committees and accepted contributions in violation of federal limits and source prohibitions," the FEC said in a statement Wednesday.

The commission approved the three settlements on a vote of 6-0. ...

The FEC concluded that the three 527 organizations violated campaign finance laws because they expressly stated their desire to influence the presidential election in their fundraising, their public statements or their advertisements. Such activity, the FEC said, could only be conducted by political committee registered with the FEC that abide by contribution limits and public disclosure requirements. -- BostonHerald.com - National Politics: Political groups to pay campaign fines

Rick Hasen has an analysis of the agreements here. Bob Bauer had this short analysis (with more to come later on the blog or in court, I expect).

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Raw Story reports: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and other so-called '527' nonpartisan groups are likely to soon face significant fines from the Federal Election Commission, according to a story in today's edition of Roll Call.

America Coming Together, a more Democrat-leaning group, and others were cited as facing fines after two years of FEC scrutiny, in an article written by Matthew Murray. During the 2004 presidential election, complaints had been filed against the groups for violating campaign finance laws. Texans for Truth, Progress for America Voter Fund, Leadership Forum, the Media Fund, the Joint Victory Campaign, Economic Freedom Fund and Majority Action were other groups confirmed to be likely targets of fines for their conduct in 2004.

One observer of the process commented to Roll Call that fines were unlikely unless major infractions were alleged to have occurred, as the FEC's current philosophy emphasizes the pursuit of "big fish." -- The Raw Story | Swift Boat Vets, related groups to face big fines

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AP reports: The Federal Election Commission has fined Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham $50,000 for fundraising violations stemming from his 2002 congressional campaign.

The commission found that Turnham's father, Pete Turnham, who was the candidate's treasurer, made illegal contributions or loan guarantees to the campaign totaling $166,502. At the time, the law capped individual's contributions at $1,000 per election. -- Ala. Democratic party chairman fined over campaign contributions - NBC 15 Online

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