The Clinton-supporting super PAC, Correct the Record, asserts it can coordinate directly with the Clinton campaign as long as it doesn’t run paid advertising. CLC filed a complaint with the FEC alleging Correct the Record has violated federal election law by coordinating with Hillary Clinton.

The FEC dismissed CLC's complaint against Hillary for America and Correct the Record after a vote taken on June 4. The case files were made public 30 days after that.

A new report released today by CLC, in collaboration with the Daily Beast, reveals how multiple former Members of Congress who registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) have used their old campaign accounts to contribute tens of thousands of dollars to the same legislators they have lobbied on behalf of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other foreign governments. CLC’s report, developed using FARA records and campaign finance reports from the past five years, underscores the importance of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) issuing clear rules for so-called “zombie campaigns,” such as requiring that old campaign accounts be shut down.

Campaign Legal Center, joined by Issue One, submitted comments to the Federal Election Commission on July 10, 2019 regarding proposed rules for disclaimers on digital political advertising.

CLC submitted joint comments with W.V. Citizens for Clean Elections to West Virginia's State Election Commission regarding its proposed campaign finance rulemaking. The comments make a number of recommendations that are intended to improve the rule's anti-coordination provisions, strengthen West Virginia's prohibition on foreign national election spending, and clarify other regulatory requirements. 

Federal law requires political committees to publicly disclose all of their receipts and disbursements, but the Federal Election Commission has issued a series of opinions that ignore these requirements and unlawfully exempt committees from disclosing their receipt and disbursement of valuable lists they exchange with other committees. CLC has filed a rulemaking petition asking the Commission to amend its regulations to clarify that a political committee’s receipt or disbursement of mailing lists and other valuable information must be reported.

On June 17, 2019, CLC submitted comments to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission regarding its proposed rulemaking on political advertising disclaimer requirements. We recommend that the Ethics Commission limit its interpretation of state law's exemption for certain online ads from disclaimer requirements, and also suggest adding "safe harbor" criteria for including disclaimers on different types of political advertisements.

CLC submitted a comment to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding a draft interpretive rule about political parties paying for cybersecurity services.

CLC urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether multiple individuals violated campaign finance law’s foreign national contribution ban and straw donor ban, as alleged in CLC’s complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on the same matter. 

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging repeated violations of the foreign national contribution ban and the straw donor ban. The complaint outlines a two-year pattern of Chinese nationals being invited to U.S. political fundraisers at six-figure costs, often with promises of photos with President Trump, and then appearing at those fundraisers. The evidence suggests that U.S. nationals are being reimbursed for their political contributions with funds paid by Chinese nationals participating in these political tourism packages, in apparent violation of multiple provisions of U.S. campaign finance law.

CLC, Issue One, and five former members of Congress submitted a letter to the FEC urging it to proceed with a rulemaking on extending the personal use prohibition to politicians’ leadership PACs. Included with this letter was a copy of CLC and Issue One’s new report, All Expenses Still Paid, which documents the ongoing abuses of leadership PAC funds.

Read our original July 2018 report here, our July 2018 rulemaking petition here, and our November 2018 comments to the FEC here.

Issue One and Campaign Legal Center released a report documenting the ongoing abuses of leadership PACs. In the absence of action by Congress and the FEC, politicians continue to use their leadership PAC funds for travel, resort stays, meals, and more—while many devote only a minority of funds to contributions to other candidates and political groups. CLC, Issue One, and five former members of Congress also attached this report to a letter to the FEC urging it to proceed with a rulemaking on this issue.

Read our original July 2018 report here, our July 2018 rulemaking petition here, and our November 2018 comments to the FEC here. 

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on May 21, 2019 citing evidence that Barry Zekelman, Wheatland Tube, LLC and Zekelman Industries violated the prohibition on foreign nationals making contributions in connection with a federal election.

This issue brief explains the benefits of the Honest Ads Act, a bipartisan bill re-introduced in May 2019 that would increase transparency requirements for digital ads, in an effort to prevent foreign interference in U.S. elections.

CLC submitted a letter to the FEC urging the agency to proceed with a rulemaking to define the permissible and impermissible uses of the national parties’ so-called “Cromnibus” accounts.

CLC and End Citizens United filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on May 9, 2019 alleging that the Trump campaign illegally solicited contributions to the super PAC America First Action.

This issue brief analyzes how Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election exposed gaps in both the scope and enforcement of existing campaign finance law. Specifically, it describes how Congress and the FEC should close the digital disclosure gap for online political ads and how the FEC needs to enforce the law for civil violations, such as soliciting contributions from foreign nationals.

CLC's Brendan Fischer and Maggie Christ published a report in collaboration with Axios on a group called The Presidential Coalition, a 527 that is raising money by capitalizing on former Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie's connection to the President. The fundraising appeals have paid off, as the group has achieved a fundraising explosion after Trump was elected. But this analysis shows that the group devoted only a trivial proportion of its post-2016 spending to the cause it says it is supporting.

Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, and Democracy 21 filed a supplement to a complaint filed in July 2017 against President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign committee for soliciting contributions from foreign nationals in the form of opposition research offered by Russians. 

CLC Action filed suit on behalf of Giffords against the FEC after it failed to announce any action on four complaints alleging illegal coordination between the NRA and seven federal campaigns via common vendors. CLC Action is suing the FEC to force it to hold the NRA accountable for violating the laws designed to limit money’s influence on politics.