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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Tuesday announced it would file suit in federal court next week to force the Federal Election Commission to investigate Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). The complaint alleges that McCain violated campaign finance laws by opting out of the federal matching fund program after already benefitting from it by using anticipated matching funds to secure a private loan. That assistance helped his campaign in the GOP primary. The DNC had already filed a complaint with the FEC earlier this year when McCain withdrew from the program. “John McCain poses as a reformer but when it comes to his own campaign, he thinks the rules apply to everyone but him,” said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. “Taxpayer dollars helped him secure a private loan to keep his campaign afloat, he got free ballot access which saved his campaign money and yet it’s clear he doesn’t think he needs to stick by the legally binding contract he signed. John McCain is breaking the law and doesn’t seem to care.” Had McCain stayed in the matching funds program, his ability to spend money in the primary would have been severely curtailed. The FEC lacks a quorum to vote on the original DNC complaint and it is unclear how much work commission staff has completed on the issue. However, the Senate could act soon to confirm new commissioners, giving the FEC enough members for a vote. The DNC suit is aimed to compel the commission to act on its February complaint within 30 days. Republican National Committee chief counsel Sean Cairncross said the DNC is “wasting judicial resources for its own political agenda.” He added that the Democrats have “neither the law nor the facts on their side.” “Unfortunately, the DNC’s attempt to mislead the press and public with meritless court filings is not unusual,” Cairncross stated. “We are confident that the district court will again throw out this frivolous court filing, and that the FEC will dismiss the DNC’s complaint.” |
