WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission has recently made public its final action on four matters previously under review (MURs). This release contains only disposition information.
|
RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Gordon Smith for U.S. Senate, Inc, (96), Stan Huckaby, treasurer [5299 and 5322]
(b) Senator Gordon H. Smith [5299 and 5322]
(c) Gordon Smith for U.S. Senate 2002, Inc., Lisa Lisker, treasurer [5299 and 5322]
(d) Gordon Smith for U.S. Senate, Stan Huckaby, treasurer [5299]
(e) U.S. Bancorp [5299]
(f) Sharon L. Smith [5322] |
|
COMPLAINANT: |
Jim Edmunson, Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon [5299]
Neel Pender, Bradbury for U.S. Senate [5322] |
|
SUBJECT: |
Failure to properly disclose all disbursements (relating to the repayment of loans); failure to accurately report loan information; excessive contribution; exceeding the $25,000 annual contribution limit; bank loan made outside the ordinary course of business |
|
DISPOSITION: |
(a) Conciliation Agreement: $11,000 civil penalty* [re: failure to properly disclose all disbursements (relating to the repayment of loans); failure to accurately report loan information ]
(a-b) No reason to believe* [re: excessive contribution; exceeding the $25,000 annual contribution limit]
(c) Dismiss the complaint in MUR 5322*
(f) No reason to believe* [re: excessive contributions; exceeding the $25,000 annual contribution limit]
(a-e) Take no action with respect to the complaint in MUR 5299 and close the file.
In MUR 5322, the complainant asserted that when repaying the line of credit in 2000, Senator Smith accepted an excessive contribution of approximately $500,000 from his wife in the form of proceeds of a home equity loan used to make the repayment that exceeded Senator Smith’s share of the home that he owned jointly with his wife. The response stated during the course of Senator Smith’s two elections in the 1996 election cycle he loaned his committee approximately $2.3 million and Senator Smith had over time personally repaid the bank loans in full. According to the response, one of the loans the candidate made to his campaign in 1996 was for approximately $1.6 million, and that as a result of the candidate’s periodic payments, the outstanding balance on the debt to U.S. Bankcorp was $589.321. The response further maintains that the Senator and his wife took out and received a home equity loan valued at $1.7 million and asserted the Senator used $589.321of the proceeds to retire the U.S. Bankcorp loan and did not exceed his share of the value of the home he jointly owned with his wife. Based on this information the Commission found no reason to believe that the Committee, the Senator or his wife violated the law with respect to the home loan. However, in the response the Committee acknowledged that it had originally failed to report many payments made to pay off the 1995 line of credit including the last payment and that it had not reported that of portion a the 2000 home equity loan had been used to make the final repayment on the line of credit. The Commission conciliated with the Committee with respect to the reporting problems.
The complaint in MUR 5299 asserted that U.S. Bankcorp extended a $2 million uncollateralized line of credit to Senator Smith and his committee in 1995, with an allegedly lower interest rate than extended to other borrowers. The Commission decided to take no action with respect to MUR 5299, because the original 1995 loan, the draw-downs from which were completed in 1996, was made more than eight years ago, nearly seven years before the complaint was filed and after the statute of limitations had expired. |
|
DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering 5299 or 5322 under case number in the Enforcement Query System.They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington.
|
|
|
|
3. |
MUR 5548 |
|
|
|
|
|
RESPONDENTS: |
(a) The Committee on Arrangements for the 2004 Republican National Convention; Mike Retzer, treasurer
(b) Republican National Committee, Mike Retzer, treasurer |
|
COMPLAINANT: |
Jerry H. Goldfeder |
|
SUBJECT: |
Excessive contributions; failure to report contributions |
| |
DISPOSITION: |
(a-b) No reason to believe* [re: any violation of the Act]
The complaint stated that top donors and fundraisers for the RNC and Bush-Cheney ’04 planning to attend the Conventions were required to purchase an event package for a series of exclusive parties and social activities. The complainant alleged these social activities were the functional equivalent of fundraising events and the fees that the donors and fundraisers paid to attend them were excessive and prohibited contributions to respondents in violation the Act. Respondents counter that LogiCom organized, marketed and provided these activities directly to interested individuals, that the events were not fundraisers and that any activity fees paid to that company were not contributions and were not reportable to the Commission. The Commission found no reason to believe, based upon the complaint’s unsubstantiated allegations weighed against the response by the RNC and Convention committees. |
|
DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering 5548 under case number in the Enforcement Query System. They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington.
|
| |
|
|
4. |
MUR 5630 |
|
|
|
|
|
RESPONDENTS: |
Request Foods, Inc. |
|
COMPLAINANT: |
Mark Brewer |
|
SUBJECT: |
Disclaimer; failure to report independent expenditure |
|
DISPOSITION: |
This case was dismissed because it was low rated. Low rated cases are those that do not warrant use of the Commission’s resources to pursue because of their lower significance relative to other pending matters.
The complainant alleged that Request Foods, Inc., purchased an advertisement in the Holland Sentinel daily newspaper in the form of a detachable sticker, which allegedly contained express advocacy and lacked an appropriate disclaimer. Request Foods Inc. responded by denying that it paid for the advertising placed in the Holland Sentinel. Instead, Request Foods stated that its president, Jack DeWitt, paid for the advertisement and supplied a receipt for $680, which represented the costs associated with the advertisement. Request Foods attached an email to its response that explained that the ad representative at Holland Sentinel attributed the advertisement to Request Foods Inc., since no one claimed it was a personal advertisement. Mr. Dewitt filed a Form 5 with the Commission which acknowledged the advertisement as an independent expenditure. |
|
DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering 5630 under case number in the Enforcement Query System.They are also available in the FEC’s Public Records Office at 999 E St. NW in Washington. |
