06/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/09/2024 02:56
Commission meetings and hearings
No open meetings or executive sessions were scheduled this week.
Enforcement
The Commission made public two closed cases and one Statement of Reasons, as follows. For more information, see the case documents in the Enforcement Search System.
COMPLAINANT: Michael Don Johnson
RESPONDENTS: Cory Mills; Cory Mills for Congress and David Satterfield, in his official capacity as treasurer (the Committee); Laura Loomer for Congress, Inc. and Laura Loomer, in her official capacity as treasurer (Loomer Committee); The Mills Victory Fund and David Satterfield, in his official capacity as treasurer; Pacem Solution International LLC; Pacem Defense LLC; 1198 Windrock LLC; Pacem Estate Holdings LLC; ALS, INC.; Waygar Capital Inc.; and Unknown Persons
SUBJECT: The complaints alleged that Mills, a 2022 candidate for Florida's 7th Congressional District, had insufficient financial assets to make loans totaling $1,848,900 to the Committee, and that Mills and the Committee knowingly and willfully accepted unreported, prohibited, and excessive contributions to make the loans from sources including businesses in which Mills has an ownership interest, an agent of Waygar Capital Inc., a foreign entity, and from unknown persons. The complaint in MUR 8098 alleged that Mills made and the Loomer Committee accepted excessive or prohibited federal contractor contributions because Mills owns entities that are federal contractors. The complaint in MUR 8111 also alleged that Mills the Committee failed to properly itemize certain disbursements, converted campaign funds to personal use with respect to various disbursements, and that the Committee and the Mills Victory Fund accepted excessive contributions from several individuals who made contributions on the same date and in the same amount to both committees in connection with joint fundraising transfers.
DISPOSITION: The Commission dismissed the allegations.
MURs 8215 and 8216 (Last Best Place PAC and David M. Lewis, in his official capacity as treasurer) On September 6, Vice Chair Ellen L. Weintraub and Commissioner Shana M. Broussard issued a Statement of Reasons.
Regulations and agency procedures
REG 2024-04 (Form 3Z) - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking This week, the Commission made public two comments it received on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to remove the requirement that the principal campaign committee of a candidate with multiple authorized committees report information on FEC Form 3Z. To read the comments, visit https://sers.fec.gov/fosers/ and reference REG 2024-04.
Litigation
Campaign Legal Center, et al. v. FEC (Case Nos. 22-5336 and 19-2336) On September 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a Mandate.
Lewicki, et al. v. FEC (Case No. 24-2505) On August 30, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the Commission's dismissal of Plaintiffs' administrative complaint in MUR 8110 was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law.
FEC v. Rivera (Case No. 22-11437) On September 3, Appellant David Rivera filed a Motion to Amend the Petition for Rehearing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. On September 4, the Court denied that motion.
National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. FEC, et al. (Case No. 24-3051) On September 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an Opinion and Judgment affirming that the limits on coordinated campaign expenditures of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (the Act), do not violate the First Amendment.
Outreach
On September 4, Vice Chair Weintraub gave the keynote address at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy's program on Safeguarding Democracy: Protecting Elections and Election Workers and participated in a panel conversation on election information integrity.
Press releases
FEC certifies matching funds for Jill Stein for President 2024, Mike Pence for President (issued September 6)
Court of Appeals issues opinion and judgment in National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. FEC, et al. (issued September 6)
Employment opportunities
The Commission is accepting applications for the position of Associate General Counsel for Litigation through October 4, 2024.
Upcoming Commission meetings and hearings
September 17, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to meet in executive session.
September 19, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to hold an open meeting.
Upcoming educational opportunities
September 11, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to host a webinar on Independent Expenditures and Pre-Election Communications.
September 25, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to host FECFile and reporting webinars for candidate committees.
October 9, 2024: The Commission is scheduled to host FECFile and reporting webinars for PACs and party committees.
For more information on upcoming training opportunities, see the Commission's Trainings page.
Upcoming reporting due dates
September 20: September Monthly Reports are due. For more information, see the 2024 Monthly Reporting schedule.
Additional research materials
Election Dates. The Commission has posted 2024 Presidential and Congressional Primary Dates, which are subject to change.
Contribution Limits. In addition to the current limits, the Commission has posted an archive of contribution limits that were in effect going back to the 1975-1976 election cycles.
Federal Elections 2020: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is available. The data was compiled from the official vote totals published by state election offices.
FEC Notify : Want to be notified by email when campaign finance reports are received by the agency? Sign up here.
The Combined Federal State Disclosure and Election Directory is available. This publication identifies the federal and state agencies responsible for the disclosure of campaign finances, lobbying, personal finances, public financing, candidates on the ballot, election results, spending on state initiatives and other financial filings.
The Presidential Election Campaign Fund Tax Checkoff Chart provides information on balance of the Fund, monthly deposits into the Fund reported by the Department of the Treasury, payments from the Fund as certified by the FEC, and participation rates of taxpayers as reported by the Internal Revenue Service. For more information on the Presidential Public Funding Program, see the Public Funding of Presidential Elections page.
The FEC Record is available as a continuously updated online news source.
Other election-related resources
Videos on protecting U.S. elections. The FBI's Protected Voices initiative provides videos designed to help political campaigns protect themselves from foreign influence. The 2019 videos offer guidance on ransomware, business email compromise, supply chain, social media literacy, and foreign influence operations. Other videos, released in 2018, include cyber hygiene topics such as social engineering, patching, router hardening, and app and browser safety.
Join the FEC on X and YouTube
Follow @FEC on X to receive the latest information on agency updates, news releases, and weekly activity. Subscribe to our YouTube channel, FECTube: FECConnect on Demand, to watch instructional videos that have been designed to help candidates and committees comply with federal campaign finance laws. Note that the FEC is not currently available through other social media platforms. The use of the agency's logo, name, and likeness on other media has not been authorized by the FEC.