Today, oral arguments are set to begin at the D.C. Circuit Court in End Citizens United’s (ECU) lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The lawsuit argues that the Commission wrongfully dismissed ECU’s complaint against former President Donald Trump’s campaign’s violation of campaign finance law.
Read more about the complaint in The Hill and HuffPost.
“It shouldn’t take a court order to force the FEC to enforce the law. Yet here we are,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “It speaks to the dysfunction at one of the country’s most important enforcement agencies – the agency tasked with guarding against the corruption of our democracy. The FEC’s General Counsel found reason to believe that Donald Trump broke the law, yet they wrongfully dismissed our complaint due to gridlock and a broken process. This often-repeated situation signals to candidates that they have a green light to break the law, and it encourages corruption.”
The original complaint relates to a 2019 violation when President Trump’s campaign issued an official statement that solicited unlimited contributions to a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action. Candidates or their campaigns may only solicit contributions for super PACs within federal limits. The Trump campaign took no such measures in its solicitation, instead issuing a blanket endorsement of contributions to the “approved” super PAC – contributions that would include corporate and unlimited funds, which federal candidates are prohibited from soliciting.
Although the FEC’s General Counsel determined that there was reason to believe the Trump campaign had violated the law, the Republican commissioners blocked the investigation and dismissed the complaint. The Commission failed to issue the required rationalization for its action.
Timeline:
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May 7, 2019: Trump campaign illegally solicits contributions for “independent” super PAC
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May 9, 2019: ECU and Campaign Legal Center (CLC) file FEC complaint against Trump’s campaign
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November 24, 2020: FEC counsel finds reason to believe Trump’s campaign broke the law and recommend investigation
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April 20, 2021: The Republican FEC commissioners vote NO on moving forward with investigation and do not release statement of reason
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June 21, 2021: ECU and CLC file lawsuit against the FEC to challenge the wrongful dismissal
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June 25, 2021: The Republican FEC commissioners release statement of reason after missing deadline; cites prosecutorial discretion
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April 18, 2022: District court judge dismisses case based on discretion
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June 16, 2022: ECU and CLC appeal to Circuit Court, arguing that the FEC’s rationale for dismissal came after deadline – and after the lawsuit
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