Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on Illegality of Leadership “Super PAC” Proposed by Senator Mike Lee
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has filed an Advisory Opinion Request with the Federal Election Commission asking whether his Leadership PAC can raise unlimited contributions to spend on independent expenditures.
The answer to this question is open and shut: the federal campaign finance laws clearly and unequivocally prohibit the Leadership PAC of a Member of Congress from soliciting or receiving unlimited contributions.
Senator Lee’s Leadership PAC is flatly prohibited by law from raising unlimited money and Senator Lee should abandon this effort immediately.
Section 441i (e) (1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits “an entity directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained or controlled by or acting on behalf of” a Member of Congress from “soliciting or receiving contributions” that do not comply with the federal limits and prohibitions on contributions to candidates and political committees.
As part of the Lee Advisory Opinion Request, the lawyer for Senator Lee’s Leadership PAC acknowledges that the PAC “is at least indirectly established, controlled, maintained or financed by the associated candidate,” i.e., Senator Lee, within the meaning of the law.
This concession is consistent with the legal definition of a “leadership PAC,” a term that means, with respect to a Federal officeholder, a committee “that is directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained for controlled” by the officeholder, but which is not an authorized committee of the officeholder, nor affiliated with an authorized committee. 2 U.S.C. 434i(8)(B).
Thus, there is no question that Senator Lee’s Leadership PAC falls squarely within the statutory provision which prohibits a Member, or an entity “directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained or controlled” by that Member, from raising contributions outside the federal contribution limits.
The Advisory Opinion Request from Senator Lee is a classic example of the “throw everything you can think of against the wall and see what sticks” current approach to efforts to evade and circumvent the campaign finance laws.
Senator Lee’s Advisory Opinion Request is a brazen effort to see if he can get away with ignoring the clear language, purpose and meaning of the campaign finance laws by having the FEC bless his actions. However, it is very hard to see how even the dysfunctional FEC can figure out a way to emasculate the campaign finance laws in this case.
