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The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against a 527 it says violated contributions laws by acting as a political action committee.
In a letter to the FEC on Monday, the NRCC alleges that Patriot Majority and affiliates Patriot Majority West, Patriot Majority Midwest and Patriot Majority Arizona violated election law by running advocacy ads that specifically criticize Republican candidates.
The NRCC argued that because the Patriot Majority has spent the vast majority of its resources attacking federal candidates to “influence public elections,” the FEC should review whether its current tax status is appropriate.
“Since January 2008, Patriot Majority and its affiliated committees have spent more than $1 million on television advertisements opposing Republican candidates for federal office,” said the letter to the FEC from NRCC General Counsel Elizabeth Beacham. “Yet, because they are registered with the IRS as a 527 committee rather than the FEC as a Federal political committee, they are also able to raise unlimited funds without the confines of the federal contribution limits.”
The group has run ads against the following Republican members: Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Joe Knollenberg (Mich.), Jean Schmidt (Ohio), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Tim Walberg (Mich.) and Steve Pearce (N.M.) and Sen. John Sununu (N.H.). The group has also run ads against Ohio GOP candidates Steve Stivers and Kirk Schuring.
A spokesman for the Patriot Majority could not be reached for comment.
The website states that the group is an independent political organization assembled “to pursue new policies that strengthen our national security, boost the economy and create good paying jobs, achieve energy independence, make healthcare affordable, provide quality education to all children and protect the public safety of all citizens.”
According to its website, the group began in December 2005 and ran issue ads in Massachusetts in 2006 and Ohio in 2007. |
