oct 2006 fec complaint answer of nea

8/14/2019 Oct 2006 FEC Complaint Answer of NEA

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1201 16th St., N.W. I

GreatPublic Schools&r Every Child

HAND-DELIVERYNovember 14,2006Kim C ollinsOffice of General CounselFederal Election Com mission999 E Street,NWWashington, DC 20463Re: MUR5855

Washington, DC 20036 I Phone: 202.833.4000 Reg WeaverPresidentDennis Van RoekelVice-PresidenLily EskelsenSecretary-Treasu erJohn I. WilsonExecutive Director

Dear Ms. Collins:On November 1,200 6, John Wilson, Treasurer of The NEA Fund for C hildren and Public Education(The NEA Fund), received a letter dated October 27,2006, fkom Jeff S. ordan, SupervisoryAttorney of C omplaints Examination & Legal Adm inistration for the Federal Election Com mission(FEC), stating that his office had received a complaint (Complaint) alleging that The NEA Fundmay have violated the Federal Election C ampaign Act of 1971, as amended (FECA). I have beenauthorized to represent T he NEA Fund in this matter, and this response is sub mitted on its behalf.Enclosed with the letter from M r. Jordan wa s the Complaint fi-om the J..D. Hay wor th for Congresscommittee (Hayworth comm ittee) alleging that The NE A Fund had fail[ed] to file a proper reportof independen t expenditures within 48 hours ofmaking such expenditures, in violation of therequiremen ts in the Act (2 U.S.C. 0 434) and FEC regulations (11 C.F.R. j 04.3 and j 104.4). TheCom plaint stated that [oln or before October 18 ,2006 , NEA (sic) began a iring televisionadvertisements attacking J.D. Hayworth, and fu rther alleged, There isno report of NEA (sic)independent expenditu res for any television advertising sponsored by NE A (sic) as of the date of thiscomplaint (October 20,2006). (Emphasis in the original.) The Com plaint concludes that NEA(sic) has failed to comply with the requirements of both the statute and the FEC s regulations byfailing to provide ad equa te and proper notice within 48 hours of the independ ent expend itures fortelevision advertising.

1 Not to belabor the obvious, but the television ad s in question were paid for by NE As political actioncomm ittee, The NEA Fund, and not by NEA itself. We presume that the Hayworth committeerecognizes this fact, since it has filed its charge against The NEA Fund rather than NEA, and wemake note of this only to eliminate any potential confusion.


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November 14,2006999 E Street, NWPage 2In brief, the Complaint is entirely groundless, to the point of being frivolous. It appears to be merelypart of a larger effort to bully a television station that broadcasts in A rizonas 5Ih CongressionalDistrict into pulling fiom the air an independent expenditure paid for by Th e NEA Fund that wascritical of Congressman Hayworth. In that sense, the Complaint would be the h c ti o n a l equivalent ofan abuse of the process, and should be sum marily dismissed by the Com mission.

The NEA Fund paid several vendors to produce and dissem inate television advertisements in bothEnglish and Sp anish that were critical of Congressm an Hayworth and advocated the election of hisoppon ent, Harry M itchell. These advertisemen ts .were created and produced independe nt of an ycandidate, candidates comm ittee, or political party comm ittee in comp liance with 2 U.S.C. 0 43 l(17)and 1 1 C.F.R. 109.21. Accord ingly, they qualified as independent expend itures, as that term isdefined under FECA. On October 18,2006, KTV K-TV , a television station broadcasting in an areathat included A rizonas 5 I h Congressional District - urrently represented by Congressman Hayworth- egan airing such advertisements. See Attachment A. On October 20,2006 , The NEA Fundreported the expenditures associated with those television advertisements. Th e Comm issionconfirmed receiving that report at 6:13 p.m. on October 20. See Attachment B.On October 18,2006, the day that the aforeme ntioned television advertisements began a iring, legalcounsel for the Hayworth comm ittee wrote a letter to the manager o f KTVK -TV demanding that itcease broadcasting the ads on the grounds that they allegedly contained false and misleadingstatements. While that letter focused primarily on legal principles stemming from the FederalCom mun ications Act, the letter added the following:

[Tlh e NEA has falsified its required report, which w as to have been filed within 24 hours ofthe airing of this advertisement? A com plaint is being filed today at the FEC against the NEAfor its false statements related to this expenditure at your station. We will fbm ish a copy of theFEC complaint upon filing this afternoon. Clearly, the NEA has not been honest andforthcoming with regard to . . . he . . . egally mandated reporting requirem ents related to thisadvertisement.

See Attachment C, page 3 of the letter to the station manager.

2 Apparently between the time the letter to the station manager was sent, see Attachment C y and thedate of the Complaint that serves as the basis for MUR 5855, legal counsel for the HayworthCom mittee realized that the 24-hour reporting period did not begin until October 19,2006 - dayafter the television ads in question began to air - and so for purposes of the C omplaint changedthe alleged violation fi-om a failure to report w ithin 24 hours of airing to a failure to report within48 hours of airing.


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November 14,2006999E Street,NWPage 3DISCUSSIONAs a result of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform A ct of 2002 (BCRA), FEC A now prov ides thatevery person -- including political action comm ittees (PACs) -- that makes independentexpenditures aggregating $10,000 or more in connection with an election up to and including the 20thday before the election must report such expend itures to the C omm ission within 48 hours of the d ateon which the expenditure was publicly disseminated or distributed. 2 U.S.C. 6 434(g)(2)(A). FECregulations provide that the report m ust be received by the C omm ission by no later than 1 1 59 p.m.Eastern StandardDay light Tim e on the second day following the date on which a com mun ication thatconstitutes an independent expenditure is publicly distributed or otherw ise publicly disseminated. 11C.F.R. 0 104.4(b)(2).In the instant case, the television advertisemen ts in question began to air on O ctober 1 8,200 6. SeeAttachment A. Accordingly, The NEA Fund had until 115 9 p.m. on October 20 ,20 06 , to provide theCom mission with its report disclosing the expend itures made in conn ection with that communication.As the Com missions own records clearly show, The NEA Fund submitted that report on Octob er 20,2006, and the Comm ission confirmed receiving it at 6: 13 p.m. on that date. See Attachment B. Thus,there can be no question but that The N EA Fund com plied with the 48-hour rep orting requirement.At first blush, it seems puzzling, to say the least, as to why the Hayw orth comm ittee filed theCom plaint when it is so clear that The NEA Fund did not comm it the violation being alleged. Inaddition, according to the date-time stamp on the face of the C omp laint, the C omm issions mailoperations center received the Com plaint at 12:36 p.m. o n O ctober 20, meaning that the deadline forfiling the 48-hour report was still nearly 12 hours away.We subm it that allegations in the C omp laint are disingenuous, and that the H ayworth com mittee filedthe C omp laint merely as part of a multi-faceted strategy to pressure KTVK -TV into pulling The NE AFunds television advertisements fiom the air. In its October 18 letter to the KTVK-TV stationmanager, fiom wh ich we quoted supra, the Hayworth com mittee stated that it would be filing acomp laint with the FEC that day charging The NEA Fund w ith failure to file the required report, andthat the comm ittee would fw nish the station manager with a copy of the com plaint once it was filed.See Attachment C at p. 3. As w e hav e previously noted, that letter erroneously asserted that Th e NEAFund w as subject to a 24-hour reporting requirement. However, even assum ing arguendo that the 24-hour reporting requirement had been in effect at that time, it would not have expired until 1 1 5 9 p.m.on the foZZowing day, October 19. See 1 1 C.F.R. s 104.4(c). T hus, regardless of which provision ofFEC A served as the basis for the Hay worth comm ittees complaint against The NEA Fund, thecomm ittee intended to file the com plaint prematurely.


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November 14,2006999 E Street, NWPage 4CONCLUSIONThe Complaint alleges that T he NEA Fund failed to file a 48-hour report disclosing an ndependentexpenditure in the form of television advertisements opposin g the re-election of Congressman J.D.Hayw orth and supporting the election of his challenger. How ever, as the foregoing discussion mak esclear, the C omm issions own records dem onstrate conclusively that this charge is factually inaccurate,and that The NEA Fund did timely file that report. Accordingly, the Co mm ission must dismiss theComplaint.

dharcll3.WilkorCounsel to Th e NEA Fund for Public EducationEnclosures


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BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION:MUR 5 8 5 5 (NEA FUND FOR CHILDREN AND PUBLIC EDUCATION)AFFIDAVIT OF RICHARD STEPHEN SNIDER,JR.

Richard Stephen Snider, Jr., first being duly sworn upon his oath states the following:1. I hold the position of M anager of Advertising and Broadcasting in the Public

Relations department of the National Education Association (NEA), and work in NEAsheadquarters in Washington, DC. I have held this position since being hired by NEA in April2001.

2. During the 2006 election campaign, through our media consultant, Media Strategiesand Research, I placed the independent expenditure television advertisement that is at issue in thisMatter Under Review. The advertisement began to air on October 18,2006.

I affirm, under the penalties of perjury, that the foregoing statements are true.

City of WashingtonDistrict of Columbia

m i QP)Sworn to before me this I {*day of NGV - M , 888:

My Commission Expires: 4.- I ) - a0 9

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m a - - age l of 8#

ATTACHMENT B4 schedule E for Report FEC-2.

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SCHEDULE EINDEPENDENT EXPENDITURESFILING FEC-247255

Committee: NEA FUND FOR CHILDREN AND PUBLIC. EDUCATION.. '

Media Strategies and Research9990 Lee HwySuite220 .Fairfax, Virginia 22030Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Committee OPPOSES The Following Cand idate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052Office Sought: House ofRepresentativesState isArizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amount Expended = $308433.00Calendar YTD Per E lection for O fficeSought = $451452.99

IMS Inc.1010 Vermont Ave. NWSuite 200Washington, DC 20005

http://query mictusa .com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C000035 11247255/se 10/20/2006


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I Schedule E for Report FEC-2 Page 2 of 8

Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Committee OPPOSES The Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052Office Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amount Expended = $233.00Calendar YT D Per E lection for O ffice Sought = $451685.99

Creative Logic3127 51st PlaceN WWashington, DC 200 16Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Comm ittee OPPOSES The Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052Office Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Com pleting Fonn: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amo unt Expended = $10375.00Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $462060.99

Chambers Lopez & Gaitan LLCP.O. Box 5539Arlington, Virginia 22205Purpose ofExpenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Comm ittee OPPOSES The Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052O fi ce Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 1048/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amount Expended = $1334.00Calendar YTD Per E lection for O ffice Sought = $463394.99

http://query .nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/formdC00003 5 1 247255/se 10/20/2006


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, a Schedule E for Report FEC-2 Page 3 of 8

Andres Ramirez4001 China Cloud Drive .North Las Vegas, Nevada 8903 1Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Committee OPPOSES The Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052O fi ce Sought: House ofRepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5 'Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form:V J KrishnaDate Signed= 10/20/2006

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Am ount Expended = $241.00Calendar YTD Per Election fo,r Office Soug t = $4 ( 3635.99

Interface Media Group123320th St. NWWashington, DC 20036Purpose of Expenditure:TV AdvertisingThis Committee OPPOSES The Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052Office Sought: House ofRepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Fonn:V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amount Expended = $581.00Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $464216.99

Trice Talent Services905 West 7th S treet# 342Frederick, M aryland 2 17018527Purpose of Expenditure:TV AdvertisingThis Committee OPPOSES The Following Candidate:J.D. ayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052

http://query .nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/COOOO35 1 247255/se . 10/20/2006


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'Q'chedule E for Report FEC-2Office Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 1011 8/2006Person Com pleting Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006

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Am ount Expended = $5778.00Calendar YTD Per Election for O ffice Sought = $469994.99

National Education Association1201 16th Street NWWashington, DC 20036Purpose of Expenditure: Payment for staff servicesThis Committee OPPOSESThe.Following Candidate: J.D. HayworthCandidate ID: H4AZ06052O fi ce Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person C ompleting Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amou nt Expended = $769.00Calendar YTD Per Election for O ffice Sought = $470763.99

Media Strategies and Research9990 Lee HwySuite 220Fairfax, Virginia 22030Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Committee SUPPOR TS The Following Candidate: Harry MitchellCandidate ID: H6AZ05067O fi ce Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Am ount Expended = $154217.00Calendar YTD Per E lection for Office Sought = $233745.00

http://query .nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev7forms/COO0035 11247255/se 10/20/2006


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,, Schedule E for Report FEC-2 Page 6 of 8

Date Expended = 10/18/2006 .Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amo unt Expended = $666.00 . .Calendar YTD Per E lection for Office Sought = $239716.00

Andres Ramirez4001 China Cloud DriveNorth Las Vegas, Nevada 8903 1Purpose of Expenditure:TV AdvertisingThis Committee SUPPORTS The Following Candidate: Harry MitchellCandidate ID: H6AZ05067Office Sought: House of RepresentativesState isArizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amoun t Expended = $121.00Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $239837.00 '

Interface Media Group1233 20th St. NWWashington, DC 20036Purpose of Expenditure: TV AdvertisingThis Committee SUPPORT S The Following Candidate: Harry Mitchell 'Candidate ID: H6AZ 05067Office Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amo unt Expended = $291.00Calendar YTD P er Election for Office Sought = $240128.00

Trice Talent Services

http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C0000325 247255/se 10/20/2006


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; chedule E for Report FEC-2

905 West 7th Street# 342Frederick, Maryland 2 17018527Purpose of Expenditure:TV AdvertisingThis Committee SUPPORTS The Following Candidate: Harry M itchellCandidate ID: H6AZ05067O fi ce Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006

Page 7 of 8

Amount Expended = $2889.00IICalendar YT D Per E lection for Office Sought = $243017.00

National Education Association1201 16th StreetNWWashington, DC 20036Purpose of Expenditure: Payment for staff servicesThis Committee SUPPORTS The Following Candidate: Harry MitchellCandidate ID: H6AZ05067O fic e Sought: House of RepresentativesState is Arizona in District 5Date Expended = 10/18/2006Person Completing Form: V J KrishnaDate Signed = 10/20/2006Amount Expended = $384.00Calendar YTD Per E lection for Office Sought = $243401.00

Subtotal of Itemized Independent Expenditures = $491617.00Subtotal of Unitemized Independent Expenditures = $0.00Total Expenditures This Period = $491617.00

. .http ://query. ic usa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/COOOO32511247255/se . . 10/20/2006


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Schedule E for Report FEC-2I

Page 8 of 8

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oct 2006 fec complaint answer of nea

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