McCain: No Controlling Legal Authority

The author and chief proponent of much of the tangled web of campaign finance rules and regulations, has decided that he can continue write the rules as they apply to his campaign while on the fly.

Last summer, McCain asked to participate in the public financing system when his campaign hit the skids after the immigration amnesty debacle. After his request was approved by the FEC, he was scheduled to receive some $5.8 million. The money, however, would not come without strings attached. The restraints on fundraising as well as the state-specific spending limits imposed by the law, would mean that McCain has been in, or is close to, violation of the law since Super Tuesday.

According to campaign finance lawyer Marc Elias, “At this point, (McCain) is in the matching fund system. Right now, there is no mechanism for the commission to turn off the spigot.”

Team McCain has decided to make an aggressive move, “ignore the limits and hope that when the FEC is eventually reconstituted, it will ‘exercise its prosecutorial discretion and dismiss any complaint’ over a plain violation of the law” source. “I will make no further requests for matching-fund payment certification and will not accept any matching-fund payments including the initial amount and other amounts certified by the commission in connections with my campaign’s previous submissions,” said McCain in a letter to the FEC last week.

It may indeed prove to be a successful maneuver. It is interesting that in addition to supporting Global Warmists, McCain’s behavior reveals yet another commonality with Albert Gore. When confronted with a clear violation of campaign finance laws, he seems to be claiming, “There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of law.”

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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, A Newt One, Conservative Cat, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe, Potomac Potpourri, Potential VP picks, Potomac Predictions, Ace