WASHINGTON -- The Federal Election Commission has recently made public action on three matters previously under review (MURs). In MUR 5703, the Commission found no reason to believe that Martha T. Rainville (VT At Large) and her committee violated the law by failing to register and report in a timely manner.
The Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed MUR 5676 due to the fact that the size of the alleged violation by US-Cuba Democracy PAC was small, the debt involved was purportedly treated by the committee's vendor in a commercially reasonable manner and was ultimately repaid by the committee.The Commission also dismissed MUR 5734 because Angie Paccione for Congress (CO 4th District) took immediate action ensuring that alleged personal use of campaign funds never came to fruition. This release contains only disposition information.
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MUR 5703 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Martha T. Rainville Congressional Exploratory Committee, Kevin J. Manahan, treasurer
(b) Martha T. Rainville |
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COMPLAINANT: |
Richard T. Cassidy |
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SUBJECT: |
Failure to register and report |
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DISPOSITION: |
(a-b) No reason to believe*
The complaint alleged that Respondents violated the Act by raising funds for Ms. Rainville’s campaign without registering with the Commission and filing the proper reports. Respondents stated that they timely filed all necessary reports. Based on the complaint, as well as review of other publicly available information, the Commission found no reason to believe that the respondents violated the Act. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering 5703 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. |
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| 2. |
MUR 5676 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) US-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee (USCDPAC), Gus Machado, treasurer
(b) Steptoe & Johnson LLP |
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COMPLAINANT: |
Melanie Sloan, Executive Director, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
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SUBJECT: |
Contribution from a federal contractor
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DISPOSITION: |
The complaint alleged that USCDPAC accepted a prohibited contribution from Steptoe & Johnson, a federal contractor, because the firm extended credit to the USCDPAC for at least two-years, and has not made any attempt to collect on the debt that could not possibly have been considered “commercially reasonable.” Steptoe & Johnson stated that the debt at issue was repaid and the firm treated the debt to the manner in which it treats similar balances with other clients. In light of the amount of the alleged activity, the repayment of the debt by the committee, statements provided by respondents and a review of the merits of the case in context with the FEC’s priorities and resources, the Commission decided to exercise its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the case.
*The Enforcement Priority System (EPS) rates all incoming cases against objective criteria to determine whether they warrant use of the Commission’s limited resources.
Cases dismissed under EPS fall into two categories: low rated and stale cases. Low rated cases are those that do no warrant use of the Commission’s resources to pursue because of their lower significance relative to other pending matters. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering
5676
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. |
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| 3. |
MUR 5734 |
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RESPONDENTS: |
(a) Angie Paccione for Congress, John M. Ericson, Jr., treasurer
(b) Angela Paccione |
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COMPLAINANT: |
Ron W. Buxman |
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SUBJECT: |
Personal use of campaign funds; disclaimer |
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DISPOSITION: |
The complaint alleged that an offer made by the Angie Paccione for Congress to give paid vacations and non-campaign related trips to individuals who raised and contributed funds to her Congressional campaign violated the law. The complaint also contends that the e-mail failed to include a disclaimer. The candidate denied that she or anyone with authority in her campaign approved the e-mail messages. Once she learned of the e-mail’s existence, she sent a follow-up e-mail roughly three hours and forty-five minutes later retracting the first e-mail. In light of the action taken by the respondents and the fact that the offer never came to fruition, the Commission exercised its prosecutorial discretion and dismissed the matter.
*The Enforcement Priority System (EPS) rates all incoming cases against objective criteria to determine whether they warrant use of the Commission’s limited resources.
Cases dismissed under EPS fall into two categories: low rated and stale cases. Low rated cases are those that do no warrant use of the Commission’s resources to pursue because of their lower significance relative to other pending matters. |
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DOCUMENTS ON PUBLIC RECORD: |
Documents from this matter are available from the Commission’s web site at http://www.fec.gov by entering 5734 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. |
