Campaign for Accountability Urges FEC to Reject Obstructionist OGC Rule Change
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2023
Contact: Michael Clauw, mclauw@campaignforaccountability.org, 202.780.5750
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign for Accountability (CfA) sent a letter urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to drop consideration of a rule change that would limit the Commission’s investigative ability and block access to information about potential campaign finance violations. The proposal, which was introduced by GOP Commissioner Allen J. Dickerson, appears to be an attempt to gut the FEC’s enforcement arm by subjecting Office of General Counsel (OGC) fact-finding investigations to the same partisanship and deadlock that has engulfed the rest of the agency.
Campaign for Accountability Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith wrote, in part, “The non-partisan OGC provides an invaluable resource for the public: it documents for posterity—and for current constituents and voters—the elected officials who at the very least appear to skirt the rules by which others abide.
That this information should be widely known does not sound like a controversial opinion. Yet, those strictly opposed to the idea of campaign finance restrictions may hold a contemptuous view of the OGC’s investigatory outputs—which may occasionally paint these ideologues and their political allies as wrongdoers. We fear that this proposal is an attempt to appease that crowd. That it is an effort to prevent the public from knowing the details of an official’s or entity’s bad behavior.”
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“The given reasons for adopting the changes outlined in this proposal strain credulity. If any commissioners feel that the current campaign finance laws that the OGC is tasked with investigating are too burdensome, they may work toward changing them. While existing laws remain on the books, however, enforcement cannot be treated as optional.”
Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.