FEC

June 20, 2008 -- John McCain claims he is following campaign finance laws. But the reality is when it's inconvenient to his campaign, Senator McCain thinks the rules don't apply to him--even going as far as breaking the law. Senator McCain is violating campaign laws by using a corporate jet for campaign events but not reimbursing the corporation for the cost of the trips.

John McCain protesters, Pennsylvania: Photo by Bernard Pollack (CC)    » read more »

Holding McCain Responsible For His Do As I Say, Not As I Do Campaign

June 17, 2008 -- The Democratic National Committee today announced that it will file a suit with the U.S. District Court in D.C. next week 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, which is clearly against the law.

John McCain's "Straight Talk Express": Photo by Rich McGervey (CC)    » read more »

February 27, 2008 -- Facing questions about whether the campaign leveraged eligibility for public matching funds to gain access to the ballot in several states, the McCain campaign yesterday sunk to a new low. For days the McCain campaign has been playing fast and loose with the facts surrounding McCain's FEC violations. On a call with reporters yesterday, the McCain campaign erroneously stated that the campaign was getting on the Kentucky ballot by collecting signatures. [Wall Street Journal, 2/27/08]    » read more »

In Comments to Agency, Public Citizen Documents the Rise of ‘Bundling for Dollars’ by Campaigns

Nov. 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Election Commission (FEC), which is devising rules for handling fundraisers who bundle large sums of money for candidates, should use the opportunity to create a full and well-developed disclosure system for all bundling activity, Public Citizen said in comments submitted today to the agency.    » read more »

Commissioner Weintraub Leads Agency Away from Gutting the Provision Altogether

Nov. 20, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public Citizen applauds Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Robert Lenhard and Commissioner Ellen Weintraub for significantly reining in a potentially aberrant FEC rulemaking today on “sham issue ads.” The new rule at least partially preserves the ban on soft money funding for campaign ads in general. However, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in FEC v.    » read more »

Campaign finance monitoring, public funding top commission’s duties

05 November 2007 -- Washington -- Candidates for president of the United States come from all walks of life. Many are career politicians; others are political activists, wealthy businessmen, or even professional entertainers.    » read more »

04 October 2007

Democratic candidates edge out Republicans in the race for funds

By Stuart Gorin
USINFO Special Correspondent

Washington -- At the end of each quarter of the calendar year, U.S. presidential candidates must reveal how much money they have raised to fund their campaigns. The monies pay for such expenses as campaign travel, office space, television and radio advertising, telephone service and printing literature.    » read more »

Statement of Laura MacCleery, Director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch Division

Oct. 3, 2007 -- If the Senate wants to help boost public confidence in an agency that has consistently weakened campaign finance laws, it should defeat the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky as a member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Von Spakovsky’s demonstrated record of excessive partisanship and unfair acts toward political adversaries would cripple the agency, which is already struggling to prove it can be even-handed in interpreting the law and settling partisan disputes.    » read more »

August 27, 2007 -- Former Washington lobbyist and candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination Fred Thompson hasn't let accusations that he's violating Federal Elections Commission (FEC) law by running a shadow campaign slow him down. Thompson will be in the Twin Cities today to raise money for his "testing the waters" campaign while experts continue to assert that Thompson is using a loophole in the law to avoid the scrutiny that comes with becoming an official candidate for the GOP nomination.    » read more »

Aug 13, 2007 -- Boston, MA – Today, Romney for President released Governor Romney's Public Financial Disclosure Report. According to the report, Governor and Mrs. Romney's assets are valued between $95 and $287 million. The 45-page report (SF 278) was submitted after several meetings and discussions with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), conducted over a period of several months, to ensure that the report is complete, accurate, and in full compliance with the financial disclosure requirements.    » read more »

June 12, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Ranking Member Robert Bennett (R-UT), raising concerns about the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Elections Commission.    » read more »

U.S. Elections Glossary & Terms