“In short, a political committee seeks the Commission’s permission to ‘fully coordinate[]’ ads with candidates, featuring those candidates, echoing the candidates’ campaign slogans, in ads that are ‘thematically similar’ to the candidates’ own campaign ads, for the purpose of improving voters’ ‘perceptions’ of those candidates in the 2012 election—without treating its payments for such ads as coordinated expenditures under federal law. Just to recite this request is to demonstrate the absurdity of it.”
“American Crossroads’ request is absurd and flies in the face of decades of Supreme Court decisions upholding laws to prevent political corruption,” said Campaign Legal Center FEC Program Director Paul S. Ryan. “The Supreme Court has long recognized the importance of contribution limits to preventing corruption, and that expenditures coordinated with candidates must be treated as contributions in order to prevent easy circumvention of the limits. Most recently, in Citizens United, the Court once again explained that ‘prearrangement and coordination’ presents the ‘danger that expenditures will be given as a quid pro quo for improper commitments from the candidate.’”
Reformers file comment with FEC urging the Commission to Reject Super PAC American Crossroads’ Request for Permission to Coordinate Ads with Candidates
