Mother Jones: White House Official May Have Violated Campaign Finance Laws
What was unusual was the length of time McFarland's exploratory committee remained open: nearly five years, from late 2006 to late 2011. "It doesn't make sense that she would keep a House exploratory committee open for five years, which is through two election cycles," says former FEC general counsel Lawrence Noble, who now works for the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center and reviewed McFarland's campaign expenditures at Mother Jones' request.