"FEC RESPONDS TO CREW COMPLAINT AGAINST EMPOWER ILLINOIS MEDIA FUND"

This interesting press release (which also links to the relevant FEC documents) states:

Nearly three years after CREW filed a complaint, the Federal Election Commission has found that the 527 organization Empower Illinois Media Fund (EIMF) violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by running advertisements in the 2004 Illinois Senate race aimed at urging voters to vote against Barack Obama. The FEC found that EIMF illegally failed to register as a political committee and knowingly accepted individual contributions of over $5,000. The FEC fined EIMF $3,000 and ordered it to file reports for the period of August 20, 2004 through December 31, 2006.

This decision is legally significant because it is the first time that the FEC has determined that a 527 that operated a web site that distributed information critical of a federal candidate's record could be required to register as a political committee. In other words, this decision could be read as requiring any organization that raises funds specifically to establish and operate a web site to disseminate information critical of a federal candidate's record to register as a political committee and raise money within the prohibitions and limitations of FECA.



Posted by Rick Hasen at August 16, 2007 08:29 AM