CQ.com - MoneyLine

FEC Chairman — 2; FEC Auditors — 0

For the second week in a row, Federal Election Commission Chairman Donald F. McGahn II has intervened to lighten a potential penalty against a Democratic organization for allegedly violating campaign finance laws.
     Last week, McGahn, who happens to be a Republican, stepped in to question an audit finding against former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards’ 2004 campaign. As a result, the FEC penalty against Edwards involving violations of contribution limits was lowered from $681,000 to $173,000.
     Today, McGahn raised concerns about an FEC audit recommending that the Missouri Democratic State Commission be penalized for failing to provide receipts for more than $700,000 in expenditures made during the 2004 election cycle. McGahn’s objection, centering on whether the expenditures were even related to federal elections, forced the six-member panel to postpone a vote on the matter until the audit report on the Missouri committee can be revised to address McGahn’s concerns.
     “I don’t think that we need to create a presumption or inference that if you don’t have documents, that it’s a get out of jail free card,” McGahn said at the commission hearing. “But on the other hand, when we rely solely on an inference that the absence of documentation means that you broke federal law, I think that goes too far as well.”

Nov. 20, 2008 - 2:32 p.m.

CQ Today: Former Aide Pleads Guilty on Tax Charges in Abramoff Scandal

A former congressional aide who also worked for convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to report thousands of dollars in illegal gifts from lobbyists on his 2003 tax returns. Full story

Nov. 20, 2008 - 2:40 p.m.

CQ Today: PACs Put House Democrats on Top for First Time Since 1994

House Democratic candidates raised more money this election than their Republican counterparts for the first time since 1994, due in large part to a swing in giving among political action committees away from the GOP. Full story

Nov. 18, 2008 - 1:32 p.m.

Joint Fundraising Soars in ‘08

Two is evidently much better than one. And candidates and party committees applied this old adage to fundraising with new levels of success during the 2008 election cycle.
Candidates for the House, Senate and White House, as well as their parties, used joint fundraising committees to raise more than $415 million through Oct. 15, according to a CQ MoneyLine analysis of campaign finance reports. The figure shatters the previous record of $111 million raised by joint committees during the 2004 presidential campaign.
The top 10 joint fundraising committees so far during the 2008 cycle:
• Obama Victory Fund, $161,971,737
• McCain Victory 2008, $75,812,352
• McCain-Palin Victory 2008, $59,589,866
• McCain Victory California, $15,396,847
• McCain Victory Committee, $11,878,426
• Committee For Change, $11,776,739
• Democratic White House Victory Fund, $9,857,484
• McCain-Palin Victory California, $4,594,642
• McCain Victory Ohio, $4,384,290
• McCain Victory Florida, $3,182,704

Nov. 17, 2008 - 12:08 p.m.

Outside Groups Continue to Target Undecided Southern Races

Money continues to pour into two of the South’s undecided races – the Georgia Senate run-off and Louisiana’s 6th District general election. Republicans and their allies are on the offensive in Georgia, lead by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which reported $686,000 in independent expenditures on Wednesday. The majority of that cash was spent on an ad attacking Democrat Jim Martin, who narrowly trailed incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the Nov. 4 vote.
The cotton industry has also gotten behind Chambliss, with the Committee for the Advancement of Southeast Cotton and the National Cotton Council Committee for the Advancement of Cotton spending a combined $30,000 on newspaper ads. The National Republican Trust PAC chipped in $44,000 on e-mail messages supporting Chambliss. The only anti-Chambliss independent expenditures came from abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, which has spent more than $9,000 on mailings.
Louisiana’s 6th District race pits the two major parties’ House committees against each other. Since Wednesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee has reported $148,000 in spending on ad buys and survey research. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, spent $152,000 on advertising and field organizing.

Nov. 14, 2008 - 5:02 p.m.

Supreme Court to Review ‘Hillary: the Movie’

The Supreme Court accepted a case today that could change the disclosure requirements for advertisements indentifying federal candidates before elections. The case of Citizens United v. FEC stems from advertisements promoting a negative film about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., called “Hillary: The Movie.”
Lower courts have already ruled that the film’s producer, the conservative nonprofit group Citizens United, must disclose the names of contributors who pay for advertisements promoting the movie, and run disclaimers along with the ads. In March, the Supreme Court denied an appeal from Citizens United for a preliminary injunction against the Federal Election Commission to prevent enforcement of the disclosure rules because a lower court had not yet ruled on a similar appeal from the group.

Nov. 14, 2008 - 4:33 p.m.

Democrats Start New Committees for Recount and Runoff Contests

Democrat Jim Martin has joined with two groups to raise money for his Dec. 2 runoff in Georgia against Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Martin opened two joint fundraising committees called the Martin Victory Fund and Georgia Senate 2008. His committees will raise money in concert with the Georgia Federal Elections Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Chambliss also joined earlier in the week with the National Republican Senatorial Committee to form the Chambliss Victory Committee.
In addition to Martin, other Democrats still awaiting the outcome of recounts in their races have set up joint fundraising committees as well. Ohio Democratic House candidate Mary Jo Kilroy, who is facing a recount against Republican Steve Stivers, has established a committee with the Ohio Democratic Party called Ohio Counts Every Vote. Minnesota Democratic Senate Candidate Al Franken created the Franken Recount Fund with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to help him fund his campaign efforts through the recount against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Nov. 14, 2008 - 2:13 p.m.

CQ Today: RNC Lawsuits Take Another Swing at Campaign Finance Restrictions

The Republican party has enlisted a prominent opponent of campaign finance reform in an effort to roll back restrictions on party fundraising and spending. Full story

Nov. 14, 2008 - 10:30 a.m.

CQ Politics: Donors and an Ex-Lobbyist on Obama Transition Team

President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team, still under construction, is already stocked with high-dollar contributors to his recent campaign and other Democratic causes — as well as at least one member who lobbied late last year, according to federal election and lobbying records. Full Story

Nov. 13, 2008 - 6:23 p.m.

FEC Grants Media Exemption, Fines Edwards and Sharpton

The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously today to give an online broadcaster a press exemption on spending and to allow it to make limited solicitations for candidates.
Melothé Inc., an Internet TV Web site that favors Democrats, will be able to spend unlimited amounts for its broadcasts without the expenditures being considered as contributions to candidates. But the decision also allows the Web site to request contributions for candidates it favors as long as its fundraising operation is not “run like a telethon,” as commissioner Ellen Weintraub put it.
The commission also voted to approve audits of several 2004 campaigns, including Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards and Al Sharpton. Sharpton will have to pay $497,000 in fines to the government for accepting prohibited contributions. Edwards faced fines of $681,000 for four separate offenses involving violations of contribution limits. But the commission voted to reduce his fine to $173,000 after two Republicans on the panel — Chairman Donald F. McGahn II and Matthew S. Petersen — raised questions about whether Edwards had actually violated specific rules in some of the offenses that were cited.

Nov. 13, 2008 - 6:31 p.m.

CQ Today: Cornyn Set to Take Over GOP’s Senate Campaign Committee

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is poised to become the next chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, after Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota dropped his leadership bid. The post is influential because the chairmen recruits candidates and raises money for them. Full Story

Nov. 13, 2008 - 5:24 p.m.

CQ Politics: Obama’s Fundraising Shifts Thinking on Campaign Finance

There is now broad agreement that the 2008 election will usher in a new phase in the way political campaigns are financed in the future. However, what this will mean in practice — particularly what the response from lawmakers and regulators will be — is still anybody’s guess. Full Story

Nov. 13, 2008 - 10:44 a.m.

CQ Today: Waxman Contributions to Freshman Class Could Determine Chairmanship

Henry A. Waxman , who last week launched a bid to unseat veteran House Energy and Commerce Chairman John D. Dingell, made unusually large campaign contributions to several freshman Democrats whose votes could prove key in determining which man takes the gavel of one of Congress’ most powerful panels. Full Story

Nov. 12, 2008 - 2:18 p.m.

CQ Politics: Podesta Outlines Transition Team, Ethics Rules

John Podesta, a co-chairman of President-elect Barack Obama ’s White House transition team, sketched the outlines of the transition effort Tuesday, including a series of self-imposed ethics regulations that restrict the activities of aides who have been, or will become, lobbyists. Full story

Nov. 11, 2008 - 6:40 p.m.

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