FEC Dismisses Case Against Ad with Pelosi

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) dismissed a complaint [1] against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that was filed because of her appearance in an ad prior to the June 2008 primary election. Pelosi appeared with former Speaker Newt Gingrich during the 2008 campaign to highlight the issue of climate change. We noted the complaint in May 2008 [2] and observed, "that campaign finance rules can be a trap for unwary advocates, illustrating how federal election law has reached beyond partisan campaigning to treat traditional grassroots issue advocacy like electioneering." The ad coincided with Senate consideration of the Climate Security Act. However, Pelosi was also running for re-election in a June 3 primary and the ad aired nationally within 90 days of the election.

Judicial Watch sent a letter to the FEC charging that Pelosi's appearance in the ad [3] constituted a violation of campaign finance laws. The FEC then investigated whether the ad could be considered a form of electioneering, which would make the money paid by the nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection, a prohibited soft money donation.

By a 5-0 vote, the FEC voted to dismiss the complaint, finding that the ad focused public attention on a policy issue, and not Pelosi as a candidate. The statement of reasons, signed by 5 FEC commissioners, is available here [4].