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Monday, April 14, 2008

No, it's not "hamstringing" McCain, it's about investingating an election law criminal
Posted by Jill | 5:46 AM
The Democratic National Committee has finally found its balls and is filing a lawsuit about John McCain's use of federal election funds as collateral for a campaign loan, and then deciding to opt out of the federal system until he is formally made the nominee after the Republican National Convention:

The lawsuit asks the Court to compel the FEC to conduct an investigation into McCain's decision to unilaterally withdraw from the public financing system, and, should the FEC continue to fail to do so, to allow the DNC to sue McCain directly for disobeying campaign finance laws.

"We believe he's breaking the law every day," said DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon on a conference call Sunday.

The complaint faces some significant hurdles. For one, the FEC is hamstrung from dealing with the complex legal issues by a shortage of commissioners -- four of six seats are vacant pending senate confirmations -- and each additional step in the suit would drag out the process. So long as it remains unresolved, McCain will be able to continue to spend above the primary limits.

Then there is the McCain campaign's argument -- crafted by the candidate's lawyer, a former FEC chairman -- that public financing is voluntary, and McCain had every right to withdraw from the system when it became clear the campaign wouldn't need federal matching money.


This is in addition to the FEC complaints filed by Jane Hamsher and others because McCain has exceeded federal spending limits while participating in the federal election funding program.

Because it doesn't work the way McCain's lawyers claim it does -- at least not if you want to say you are upholding the law. You can't unilaterally just decide to withdraw willy-nilly from the program, particularly after you've used your access to said funds as collateral for a loan. You have to petition the FEC to withdraw.

And here's where it gets sticky:

As you likely know, the FEC is stymied at the moment due to the Bush Administration trying to shove Hans Von Spakovsky and all of his "caging" and other alleged nefarious campaign activities onto the election commission as a GOP dirty tricks ringer. Because the Democratic-led Congress said "no way" to Hans being voted through in a bloc vote, the Administration and their pal, Mitch McConnell, have balked at any FEC commissioner vote in the Senate. Which means that in this very important 2008 election cycle, the FEC is unable to act promptly to enforce the campaign finance laws.


Even so, FEC Chairman David Mason sent McCain's campaign a strongly worded letter (PDF), letting them know that even though McCain didn't consider his word on accepting public financing binding, that the FEC was not about to let him off the legal hook. What did McCain do? He ignored the letter, secured a loan based on representations of obtaining public financing and then blew past the public financing law spending limits...and he's still raising campaign cash, too.




So the FEC Chair has gone on the record, in writing, that the FEC considers him in violation of campaign finance law spending limits, but McCain believes that the laws don't apply to him.

Haven't we seen this before? Like, say, for the last seven years? A president who believes himself to be above the law? Do we really want more of this?

Obviously the talking heads of television news do, or they wouldn't be spending as much air time as they can hammering Barack Obama for speaking the truth about the economic conditions of ordinary Americans -- and how it's making them feel.
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