FEC Hearing Thursday on Advisory Opinion Request Regarding Legality of Federal Officeholders and Candidates Raising Unlimited Contributions for Super PACs

In their request, the two pro-Democratic PACs asked the FEC for an advisory opinion on whether it would be legal for federal officeholders and candidates, and national party officials, to solicit unlimited contributions from corporations, labor unions and individuals for their Super PACS, where the money will then be spent to influence federal elections

The FEC is scheduled to consider this AO request tomorrow, Thursday, June 30, 2011

The advisory opinion request followed an earlier announcement by an official of another group, Republican Super PAC (RSPAC), that it planned to use federal officeholders and candidates, and Republican Party officials, to solicit unlimited contributions for the PAC to then spend in federal elections. RSPAC also said that it would earmark the unlimited funds raised by any Republican candidate and spend those funds on that candidate’s election.

Section 441i(e)(1)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act provides that a “candidate or an individual holding Federal office . . . shall not . . . solicit . . . funds in connection with an election for Federal office . . . unless the funds are subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements” of FECA.

Section 441i(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act provides that a national party committee, and any officer or agent acting on behalf of such a national party committee, may not solicit any funds “that are not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements” of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).  

The FEC has before it three alternative draft advisory opinions, one of which would permit federal officeholders and candidates and national party officials to solicit unlimited contributions from corporations, labor unions and individuals for Super PACs to spend on federal elections, despite the language in the law prohibiting these solicitations. The other drafts before the FEC would prohibit such solicitations of unlimited contributions.

“The proposed solicitation by federal officials and candidates, and national party officials, of unlimited contributions for Super PACs is blatantly illegal under provisions of the federal campaign finance laws,” according to Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21.

“The provisions of federal law banning solicitation of unlimited contributions by federal officials and candidates, and national party officials, were upheld by the Supreme Court in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission and have never been challenged since then,” Wertheimer said.

“The solicitation of a million-dollar contribution by a President or by a member of Congress to be spent by a Super PAC on the officeholder’s election from donors with interests pending before the government would be an invitation to wholesale corruption of the federal officeholders. That is why this practice is clearly and unequivocally banned by federal law and why the Supreme Court upheld the ban,” Wertheimer said.