CREW has been calling for a functioning FEC for awhile now.  Finally, the Senate has approved the full slate of Commissioners, but don't expect any decisions anytime soon:

“The FEC moves at a snail’s pace,” said Richard Hasen, an election law expert a Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “People think the FEC wakes up in the morning and just starts issuing rules on things it doesn’t like,” Hasen added. “It just doesn’t work like that.”

The commission has been unable to issue rulings since January due to a standoff between the White House and Senate Democrats over nominees that left it without a working quorum. But the decision last month by former Republican Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky to withdraw his nomination quickly ended the deadlock.

The Senate confirmed five nominees Tuesday. An FEC spokesman said they will be sworn in within days.

With one holdover commissioner, Democrat Ellen Weintraub, and five new ones, the commission faces pressure to hit the ground running.

The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC charging McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, committed himself to remaining in the public financing system through August by using the prospect of having the money as collateral for a loan. As a result, McCain has broken the law by spending private funds, the DNC charged.

A spokeswoman said a related DNC lawsuit filed Tuesday aims to “make it clear this issue should be at the top of the FEC’s agenda.”

McCain’s camp calls the lawsuit a publicity stunt. FEC watchers agree that while the DNC complaint may help highlight the candidate’s maneuvering around laws he has championed, the commission almost certainly will not take a step that affects McCain’s chances before November.

“There is little chance they are going to do anything to hurt a presidential candidate,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Yesterday, CREW and Tennessee citizen Barbara Kaye Ginsberg filed an FEC complaint against the campaign committee of Rep. Marsha Blackburn. Today, The Memphis Commercial=Appeal covered the complaint:

A Washington watchdog group and a Germantown constituent have filed a complaint against U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission.

Barbara Kaye Ginsberg, 68, a retired homemaker and a resident of the 7th Congressional District since 1977, jointly filed the complaint with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, citing "serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act."

In April, Blackburn announced that she was revising most of the campaign finance disclosure reports she had filed since first seeking office in 2002 because she had failed to report $286,278 in expenditures and $102,044 in contributions.

Blackburn campaign spokesman Darcy Anderson responded to the complaint in a prepared statement: "Rep. Blackburn, in holding her campaign to a strict ethical standard, self-initiated a reconciliation of her campaign accounts. The reconciliation confirmed that all funds were properly raised and properly spent. She is confident that FEC review of those records will agree with this assessment."

Ginsberg was awaiting surgery and was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but her husband, David, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said she approached CREW because "she just felt like she wanted to do something to deal with corruption in high places."

Also, The Nashville City Paper weighed in: 

A Washington, D.C.-based good government group filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission alleging Congressman Marsha Blackburn’s campaign and her treasurer violated federal campaign finance law.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said Blackburn (R-Brentwood) violated campaign finance law through failing to report more than $100,000 in contributions and about $286,000 in spending dating back to 2002.

“Given the Blackburn campaign committee’s longstanding pattern of filing inaccurate FEC reports and the large amounts of money involved, the FEC should step in, investigate the committee and sanction it appropriately,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director, in a statement.

CREW and Germantown, Tennessee resident Barbara Kaye Ginsberg filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) today against Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign committee, Marsha Blackburn for Congress, and the committee’s treasurer, Tea Hoffman. 

After receiving 33 letters from the FEC regarding possible reporting errors since Blackburn first ran for Congress in 2002, the campaign committee undertook its own internal audit, handled by Don McGahn, who has been nominated to become an FEC Commissioner. The review showed that the campaign had failed to file correct FEC reports since Rep. Blackburn first ran for office in 2002. The committee had received over $100,000 in unreported contributions, including a $1,000 contribution from former Rep. Duke Cunningham's campaign committee and had failed to report $286,000 in expenditures, including nearly $19,000 paid to Blackburn’s own daughter. Blackburn was forced to file amendments to all 32 previously filed FEC reports.

Blackburn’s campaign committee had been the subject of an FEC investigation in 2006, resulting in a $1,500 penalty. The campaign committee’s failure to report certain contributions was a focus of the investigation. Nevertheless, at the same time that investigation was underway – and as the Cunningham scandal was breaking – the campaign committee failed to disclose the Cunningham contribution. In fact, the Blackburn campaign did not disclose the Cunningham contribution until three and a half years after it was received.

CREW’s complaint alleges that Blackburn’s campaign committee violated federal campaign finance laws by failing to report the contributions and expenditures. The complaint also alleges that the campaign committee may have committed perjury by signing a statement that all information provided to the FEC to resolve the then pending enforcement matter was true and accurate when the committee had failed to report the contribution from Friends of Duke Cunningham.

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan said:

Given the Blackburn campaign committee’s longstanding pattern of filing inaccurate FEC reports and the large amounts of money involved, the FEC should step in, investigate the committee and sanction it appropriately.  In addition, if it turns out that the campaign committee deliberately hid the Cunningham contribution when negotiating a settlement with the FEC, the Department of Justice should consider whether a perjury prosecution is appropriate.

CREW has serious concerns about the nomination of Donald McGahn as FEC Commissioner.  We're raised them before at FixTheFEC.org.  McGahn is being sued for malpractice in a case stemming from his representation of Tom DeLay's leadership PAC.  As Melanie Sloan states so forcefully, McGahn must answer questions about that case:

Before voting on the nomination of Donald McGahn to be a member of the Federal Election Commission, the Senate should require Mr. McGahn to answer questions about his role in a FEC enforcement case against Tom DeLay’s former leadership PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority PAC (ARMPAC). Former ARMPAC treasurer Corwin Teltschik has sued Mr. McGahn for malpractice in federal court for settling the case, which included claims against Mr. Teltschik, without his knowledge or consent. In his complaint, Mr. Teltschik alleges that he may lose his license to practice law in Texas as a result of McGahn’s allegedly improper conduct.

If Donald McGahn committed malpractice in settling a campaign finance matter, clearly he cannot lead the agency charged with enforcing those very same laws. Mr. Teltschik’s case raises questions not only regarding Mr. McGahn’s credentials as a campaign finance lawyer, but also his understanding of legal ethics.

Sign our petition at FixTheFEC.org opposing Donald McGahn's nomination as FEC Commissioner.

Here's why Donald McGahn is not the right choice for FEC Commissioner:

Mr. McGahn has shown disdain for the FEC. He once described the FEC as “not like other agencies because you have ... the fox guarding the hen-house. You gonna appoint your guys to make sure you are taken care of. The original intent was for it to be a glorified Congressional committee. That’s the way I see it.”

Mr. McGahn was a member of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s (R-TX) legal team, representing Mr. DeLay in legal and ethics matters regarding the Jack Abramoff affair at the time when Mr. DeLay was indicted on campaign finance violations in Texas and admonished for unethical conduct by the House Ethics Committee.

These facts suggest that Mr. McGahn would be unable to vigorously enforce campaign finance laws fairly and without regard to party affiliation. He is not the right choice for FEC Commissioner.

As we reported earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Bush adminstration that unless the nomination of Hans Von Spavoksy was withdrawn, there would be no FEC:

REID: I've had private discussions with Bolten, Josh Bolten. I've had many things public in nature, in fact most publicly, we've exchanged a number of letters back and forth. Here's where we are now. We have three Democrats that we are happy to have on the Federal Election Commission. They have three Republicans they're happy to have on the Federal Election Commission. We will not let one of them be approved. His name is Von Splotsky or something like that. (Laughter) So they're going to have to make a decision, they're going to have to replace him or there will be no FEC.

Today, Von Spakovksy withdrew his nomination according to TPM Muckraker:

"It is with regret that I write to request that you withdraw my nomination," Spakovsky wrote in a letter to the President today. In his letter, Spakovsky explains that Democrats' opposition to his nomination has caused a battle that has been "extremely hard on my family and quite frankly, we do not have the financial resources to continue to wait until this matter is resolved."

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held a question and answer session with progressive journalists. Reid was asked about the FEC nominations and provided a very blunt answer:

Question: [W]hat do you foresee in general with presidential nominations going forward this session and particularly with the FEC?

REID: I've had private discussions with Bolten, Josh Bolten. I've had many things public in nature, in fact most publicly, we've exchanged a number of letters back and forth. Here's where we are now. We have three Democrats that we are happy to have on the Federal Election Commission. They have three Republicans they're happy to have on the Federal Election Commission. We will not let one of them be approved. His name is Von Splotsky or something like that. (Laughter) So they're going to have to make a decision, they're going to have to replace him or there will be no FEC. And they need it worse than we do. I will also say this, Mason had an uncharacteristic trait, he was fair. And I have tried to be fair in the people I choose to go on the FEC, for example Steve Walther, he's not even a Democrat, he's an independent. He's one of the Democrats on the Federal Election Commission. I think the Federal Election Commission is important, I wish it had more power, more teeth than what it has legislatively. But it still is a lot better than nothing. And the Republicans have always hated the FEC, but now when McCain needs something, they're rushing around trying to get something done. We'll do it our way or it won't get done.

"What we did was perfectly legal and appropriate." That’s John McCain rationalizing his use of Cindy McCain's corporate jet for a fraction of the cost rate after having argued in favor of limiting senators’ use of corporate jets in last year’s ethics reform debate.

Remind you of anything? How about "There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of law." Al Gore in 1997, describing the fundraising phone calls he made from the White House. Gore was rightly pilloried for his comments, which instantly entered the pantheon of classic evasions of responsibility – not far removed from "mistakes were made."

Virtuous reformer John McCain's ill considered remark deservedly should suffer a similarly ignominious fate.

McCain's use of his wife's corporate jet is just another reason we need a functioning FEC. Get the FEC back in action – Go to CREW's new website today at FixtheFEC.org.

Because of the intransigence of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) isn't functioning.  The FEC staff continues to provide advice to candidates for federal office.  CREW thinks the FEC got it wrong on an issue involving congressional candidate Todd Goldup "who wanted to pay himself a salary out of campaign funds even though he hasn't been earning any money otherwise. Goldup had no income last year because he's a stay-at-home father to his two young children."  The FEC staff said no, but CREW thinks that was the wrong decision, via Jeff Birnbaum:

"Hopefully, when the FEC has a quorum again they will revisit this issue and reach the obviously correct conclusion," said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "Any homemaker, regardless of outside earned income, is worth way more than any member of Congress."

Today, CREW filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the non-profit group U.S. Term Limits (USTL) violated federal election law by running an advertisement advocating the election of Bob Schaffer for the U.S. Senate in Colorado.

As you can see from the picture below, the ad, which is posted on YouTube, is called the "Bob Schaffer for Senate video." The "About This Video" section reads "Bob Schaffer for Senate video paid for by TermLimits.org."

The ad depicts children and parents repeatedly thanking Mr. Schaffer by name for supporting charter schools. On the screen at the end of the ad is a written disclaimer: "Paid for U.S. Term Limits. U.S. Term Limits is responsible for the content of this advertising. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. U.S. Term Limits does not endorse candidates for public office."

The ad violates federal election law in two ways. First, anyone who pays for an ad expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate is required to file a report describing the expenditure within 48 hours after the ad first runs. This ad first aired on March 26, 2008, meaning that a report should have been filed with the Commission no later than 11:59 p.m. on March 28, 2008, but no report was filed.

Second, such television ads must include an audio statement that the person paying for the communication is responsible for the ad’s content, which the USTL ad does not.

CREW's Melanie Sloan said:

USTL tried to turn this Schaffer campaign ad into an issue ad by never mentioning that Mr. Schaffer is a candidate or referring to the upcoming election. USTL's intent to affect the Colorado senate race was revealed, however, when the group posted the ad on YouTube labeling it "Bob Schaffer for Senate video. This is nothing more than a campaign ad in issue ad clothing.

This is exactly the type of ad the FEC should be investigating, but the FEC's absence of a quorum means that the Commission cannot impose any penalties unless and until new commissioners are confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The total absence of election law enforcement will become more and more serious as we get closer to the November elections.