Week of February 20 – February 24, 2017

Commission meetings and hearings

• On February 22 and 23, the Commission held an executive session.
• The open meeting previously scheduled for February 23 was canceled.

Enforcement

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

MUR 6462

Donald J. Trump; Michael Cohen; Stewart Rahr; The Trump Organization, LLC; Should Trump Run Committee, Inc. f/k/a ShouldTrumpRun.com. On February 22, Commissioner Matthew S. Petersen issued a Statement of Reasons.

Administrative fines

The Commission made public five campaign finance enforcement matters that were resolved through its Administrative Fines (AF) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

AF 3085

Todd Johnson for Congress and Baxter Starnes, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $2,725.

AF 3130 

Matt Kokkonen for Congress and Jacob Thomas, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,157.

AF 3141

Committee to Help Matthew D. Erickson Build America First and Matthew Erickson, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed no civil penalty.

AF 3142

Lasee for Congress, Inc. and Jim O’Neil, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $1,779.

AF 3145 

National Peanut Buying Points Association Peanut Buying Point PAC and J. Tyron Spearman, in his official capacity as treasurer. The Commission made a final determination and assessed a civil penalty of $214.

Alternative dispute resolution

The Commission made public one campaign finance enforcement matter that was resolved through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Query System.

ADR 815

• COMPLAINANT: FEC-Initiated
  
• RESPONDENTS: Pete for Congress and Paul Kilgore, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee)
  
• SUBJECT: The Committee allegedly accepted prohibited contributions.
  
• DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed and closed the file.
  

Audits

Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Conservative Campaign Committee

On February 23, the Commission issued the Final Audit Report of the Commission on the Conservative Campaign Committee covering campaign finance activity between April 5, 2011 and December 31, 2012. The Commission approved findings related to reporting of apparent independent expenditures and failure to file 24/48-hour reports for independent expenditures, and recordkeeping for communications.

Litigation

• CREW v. FEC (Case 1:15-cv-02038). On February 22, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order.

Educational programs

On February 21, the Commission hosted a Corporate Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Campaign finance reports

• On February 20, February Monthly Reports were due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
  

Commissioners' statements

• On February 19, Commissioner Ann M. Ravel issued a report, “Dysfunction and Deadlock: The Enforcement Crisis at the Federal Election Commission Reveals the Unlikelihood of Draining the Swamp.”
• On February 23, Chairman Steven T. Walther and Commissioner Ravel delivered remarks to the Commission staff on the occasion of Commissioner Ravel’s resignation from the agency, effective March 1.
  

Press releases

• District Court Issues Opinion in CREW v. FEC (issued February 22)
  

Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings

• March 7: The Commission is scheduled to hold an executive session.
• March 9: 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

• March 29: Member/Labor Organization Webinar. Additional information is available on the Educational Outreach page of the Commission website.

Upcoming reporting due dates

• March 20: March Monthly Reports are due. For more information on monthly reporting dates, refer to the 2017 Monthly Reporting page of the Commission website.
• 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.
• The Commission has posted the filing deadlines for Alabama’s Special Senate Primary, Runoff and General Elections. For information on reporting dates for this election, refer to the Special Election Report Notice.

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 February 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.