CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission today against the NRA based on information and the belief that they may have violated campaign finance laws. During the 2014 election cycle the NRA began contracting with the political consulting firm, Starboard Strategic, for independent expenditures supporting senatorial candidates in several critical and competitive elections. Starboard is functionally indistinguishable from another political consulting firm, OnMessage, which these senatorial candidates were utilizing. There is reason to believe that OnMessage and Starboard used strategic information to coordinate between the NRA and these campaigns, which would be a violation of campaign finance law and would have given these campaigns an unfair advantage.  

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Matt Rosendale for Montana. The complaint was co-signed by Giffords, the organization led by former U.S. House Representative Gabby Giffords. Rosendale is a U.S. Senate candidate in Montana who appears to have violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by illegal coordination with the NRA.

Update: On February 8, 2019, CLC submitted additional facts to the FEC to supplement this complaint.

Complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Exhibits for the complaint can be found by clicking here.

On February 7, 2019, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with additional facts detailing alleged illegal campaign coordination between the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) and Montana U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale. These additional facts provide reason to believe that the NRA-ILA illegally coordinated communications with the Rosendale campaign.

This letter supplements CLC's initial complaint to the FEC on September 14, 2018.

On April 19, 2019, CLC filed a brief in the 4th Circuit Court in support of MD’s digital disclosure law. 

CLC submitted comments to the Maryland State Board of Elections regarding the Board's proposed regulations to implement Maryland's digital disclosure law, the Online Electioneering Transparency and Accountability Act, which the state legislature passed last year to improve transparency and prevent foreign interference in Maryland elections. CLC's comments focus on ensuring that the State Board's final regulations are consistent with the full scope of the law's disclosure and recordkeeping requirements for online political advertisements. 

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging reporting violations by Lori Trahan for Congress Committee.  

CLC filed comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding one draft of an advisory opinion requested by Bill Nelson for Senate. CLC urged the FEC not to allow the campaign to transfer excess recount funds to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's recount/legal proceedings account, because both parties have used these so-called "cromnibus" accounts for a variety of purposes that have few if any connections to recount activities.   

On August 10, 2016, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Chinese-owned corporation American Pacific International Capital, Inc. (APIC) alleging that APIC had violated the prohibition on foreign nationals making contributions in connection with a federal election. APIC gave $1.3 million to a pro-Jeb Bush super PAC, Right to Rise.

Update: On March 11, 2019, CLC released a letter from the FEC announcing $940,000 in fines imposed as a result of CLC’s complaint.

Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging the FEC to investigate apparent violations of campaign finance laws by Senator Ted Cruz and the 2012 Cruz for Senate Campaign relating to loans he obtained from Goldman Sachs and Citibank for use in his 2012 Senate campaign. According to the complaint, Senator Cruz failed to report the loans to the FEC, as required by law, and may have used a portion of his wife’s assets to secure the loan resulting in the campaign accepting excessive contributions.

Update: On March 15, 2019, CLC released a letter from the FEC announcing a $35,000 fine on Cruz as a result of CLC's complaint.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) handed down record fines after coming to a conciliation agreement with a Chinese owned company and Right to Rise, a super PAC supporting Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential run. This enforcement was generated by a complaint filed with the FEC by CLC.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) sent a letter to CLC announcing the details of a fine levied against Ted Cruz for Senate. After concluding their investigation, the FEC found Cruz obtained loans from Citibank and Goldman Sachs for use in his 2012 Senate campaign but improperly reported these loans as coming from his “personal funds.” The fine is $35,000 for inaccurately reporting the source of campaign loans totaling $1,064,000, a violation of federal law, stemming from a complaint filed by CLC and Democracy 21 in 2016.

CLC submitted the attached letter to Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, asking him to veto anti-transparency legislation passed by the state legislature. The bill, HB 1205, would broadly prohibit state and local government agencies in Mississippi from requiring 501(c) organizations to disclose any information about their donors and supporters.The Mississippi bill closely resembles legislation that was vetoed by Michigan's governor in December 2018. 

On March 14, 2019, CLC submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass’n v. Brown in the California court of appeals on behalf of California Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of California, and California Clean Money Campaign, in defense of a 2016 law that paved the way for state and local entities in California to establish public financing programs. The brief argues that the law was a valid legislative amendment to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (“PRA”) because it was enacted to further the PRA’s express good-government purposes: making California’s elections more fair, competitive, and equitable.

CLC filed an amicus brief on June 28, 2017, arguing that given the judicial findings and academic research referenced above, providing California’s state and local governments with the option of implementing citizen-funded elections clearly furthers the Political Reform Act's purposes. S.B. 1107 was therefore passed in accordance with state law and appropriately modernizes the PRA. 

This issue brief documenting how the top-spending dark money group in the 2018 elections, Majority Forward, secretly spent more on undisclosed digital ads targeted at voters in states with competitive Senate seats. This is a case study in how digital loopholes in campaign finance laws have been exploited. HR 1 would limit this practice.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that a political committee tied to former Rep. John Linder illegally converted campaign funds to personal use. Now called FAIRPAC, the committee appears to have violated the personal use prohibition by using Linder's leftover campaign funds for payments to Linder's children, travel, and phone and internet bills, among other expenditures. Linder left office in 2011. 

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that a political committee tied to former Rep. Ander Crenshaw illegally converted campaign funds to personal use. Now called Ander PAC, the committee appears to have violated the personal use prohibition by using Crenshaw's leftover campaign funds for a trip to Disney World, other travel, and phone bills, among other expenditures. Crenshaw left office in 2017.

On January 30, 2019, CLC submitted a letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging the Commission to finalize its regulation on internet communication disclaimers. The letter outlines how long it has taken the FEC to act on rulemaking, and demonstrates how foreign and domestic actors have exploited the FEC's inaction to the detriment of American voters.

On March 4, 2019, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted comments to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging the FEC to make its process of issuing advisory opinions more transparent and to allow public comment before issuing final advisory opinions.