NRA Victory Fund Super PAC Withheld Key Information about Over $500,000 in Donations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA) and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the NRA Victory Fund violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by failing to properly disclose legally required information for individual contributors who together gave over $500,000. The complaint shines a light on the latest example in a repeated pattern of the National Rifle Association (NRA) subverting campaign finance laws.  

During the 2020 election cycle, the NRA Victory Fund received 46 itemized contributions from 42 individual contributors, who together gave $510,500 between July and December. Employer and occupation information was disclosed for just two out of the 42 contributors, and several months after first filing incomplete reports with the FEC, the super political action committee (PAC) has yet to amend any FEC reports to disclose any donor’s occupation or employer.

“Federal law requires that a super PAC ask donors for occupation and employer information and follow up if that information is not provided. The NRA super PAC’s failure to disclose occupation and employer information for 95% of its individual donors suggests a systematic effort to evade federal disclosure requirements by not collecting the required information, or by not reporting it, or both.” said Brendan Fischer, Campaign Legal Center Action director of federal reform. “It is highly unlikely that 95% of the NRA Victory Fund contributors ignored the committee’s request for occupation and employer information at the time they made their donation and additionally ignored the super PAC’s follow-up requests.”

 “The NRA Victory Fund is desperate to hide how its operations are funded from the American people,” said David Pucino, Giffords Law Center Senior Staff Attorney. “This isn’t just sloppy accounting. It’s part of a larger pattern of self-dealing, corruption and blatant disregard for the rules at the heart of the modern NRA. It’s time for them to provide honest answers on their donors.”

Political committees, regardless of their mission, must identify all individuals who contribute over $200 in a calendar year and that must disclose their donors’ occupations and employers. Real transparency about who is spending money on elections needs to be enforced in order to reduce political corruption. The FEC is the only government agency whose sole responsibility is overseeing the integrity of our political campaigns, and it must investigate and hold NRA Victory Fund accountable for its blatant disregard for campaign finance laws.

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For over 25 years, the legal experts at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence have been fighting for a safer America. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Giffords Law Center researches, drafts, and defends the laws, policies, and programs proven to save lives from gun violence.