Week of April 3 – April 7, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

No Commission open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.

Advisory opinions

Comments received

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-01 (American Urological Association)

 On April 3, the Commission received a comment on Advisory Opinion Request 2017-01 (American Urological Association). The requestor asks whether it is no longer affiliated with the American Association of Clinical Urologists.

Request received

Advisory Opinion Request 2017-02 (War Chest, LLC)

On April 5, the Commission made public Advisory Opinion Request 2017-02 (War Chest, LLC). The requestor proposes to offer to political committees a web-based deposit program. As described, political committees participating in the program would deposit funds into an account; the funds would subsequently be transferred to money market deposit accounts at banks insured with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The requestor asks several questions about the permissibility of its proposal under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), and Commission regulations. The Commission will accept written comments on the request during the 10-day period following publication of the request (no later than April 17, 2017), and must issue a response no later than 60 days after the receipt of the complete request, that is, May 30, 2017.

Enforcement

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

MUR 7130

• COMPLAINANT: Nathan Richard Murphy
  
• RESPONDENTS: Augustus Sol Invictus; and Committee to Elect Augustus Invictus and Brandi Hicks, in her official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The complaint alleged that Invictus and the Committee failed to file 2016 April and July Quarterly Reports and the 2016 Florida pre-primary report. Invictus was a 2016 primary candidate for Florida’s United States Senate seat.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission found no reason to believe Invictus violated the Act or Commission regulations because the Committee’s duty to file disclosure reports resides with the treasurer, not the candidate. The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter in connection with the Committee in consideration of Commission priorities. The Commission observed that it has dismissed prior cases involving reports filed late that disclosed relatively small amounts, and that the Committee’s financial disclosures were on the public record prior to the primary election. The Commission sent a letter reminding the Committee of the obligation to file timely quarterly and pre-primary reports.
  

Audits

Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Kansas Democratic Party

On April 3, the Commission issued the Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Kansas Democratic Party covering campaign finance activity between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. The Commission approved findings related to the misstatement of financial activity, recordkeeping for employees, reporting of debts and obligations, and Levin Funds activity. Commissioner Lee E. Goodman issued a Statement.

Litigation

• CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case 16-5300 & 16-5343). On April 4, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Per Curiam Order.
• CREW, et al. v. FEC (Case 1:16-cv-00259-BAH). On April 5, the Commission filed its Answer in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
• Independence Institute v. FEC (Case 16-743). On March 31, the United States Supreme Court issued a Judgment.
• McChesney, et al. v. FEC (Case 17-1179). On April 4, the Commission's Brief of Appellees was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
• The James Madison Project, et al. v. Department of Justice, et al. (Case 1:16-cv-02531-RJL). On December 30, 2016, The James Madison Project and Louise Mensch filed a Complaint against the Department of Justice, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On February 8, those Defendants filed an Answer to the Complaint. On March 20, 2017, the Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint in which they named the Commission as a defendant.
  

Public disclosure

• On April 7, the Commission issued the Statistical Summary of 24-Month Campaign Activity of the 2015-2016 Election Cycle.
  

Press releases

• Court of Appeals Issues Opinion in CREW v. FEC (issued April 4)
  

Upcoming commission meetings and hearings

• April 19: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• April 20: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
  
• April 25: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• April 27: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
• Meeting dates are subject to change. Please contact the Press Office the week of the scheduled meeting for confirmation.
  

Join the FEC on Twitter and YouTube in 2017

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.

Upcoming educational programs

• April 26: Trade Association Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.
  

Upcoming reporting due dates

• April 15: April Quarterly Reports are due. For information on quarterly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Quarterly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• April 20: April Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  

Disclosure initiatives

Commission staff, together with our partners at 18F, continue to add new features to the agency's beta.fec.gov website. The Commission encourages website visitors to submit comments and questions by clicking on the “Feedback” tab at the bottom of each page.

Additional research materials

The Official 2016 Presidential General Election Results are available in the Library section of the website. This listing was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.

Additional research materials about the agency, campaign finance information, and election results are available through the Library section of the Commission website.

The latest edition of the Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available in the Public Records section of the Commission website. 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 Commission has published the April Record newsletter. Sign up to receive email notification when new Record articles are posted.

The latest edition of Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations can be downloaded from the website. To order printed copies, call (800) 424-9530 (press 6) or send an email to info@fec.gov.