Senators Call Out NRA for Using Shell Corporation to Duck Campaign Finance Law, Senator Diane Feinstein Reports

Nine Senators are calling on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to take action against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a major Republican advertising firm shell company apparently to skirt campaign finance law to coordinate tens of millions of dollars in political ad spending.

The firm, OnMessage, established the shell company, Starboard Strategic, in 2013 with the same staff and founders and in the same offices as OnMessage.  The arrangement would make it virtually impossible for OnMessage staff to observe the legally binding firewall between outside spenders like the NRA and political candidates they have under contract.

Following the creation of Starboard in 2013, reporting has shown remarkable integration between the messages in NRA advertisements in favor of candidates represented by OnMessage and the same candidates’ campaigns.  The Campaign Legal Center filed a lawsuit against the NRA in August over the apparent campaign finance law violation.

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