Evidence Shows Apparent Violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Washington, D.C.— August 17, 2020— Today, the non-partisan ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate an apparent violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act by the super PAC, Fight for the American Dream PAC.
According to FACT, on June 9, 2020, Mondaire Jones uploaded a video titled “Campaign” to his YouTube page. Three days later, Fight for the American Dream PAC ran its first ad, which was made up entirely of Jones’ video footage and directly linked to Jones’ website. The super PAC ran dozens more ads recycling Jones’ campaign materials, including a second video ad consisting of 53% of Jones’ campaign b-roll video and other ads consisting of a photo from Jones' campaign--all directing viewers to Jones’ campaign website.
The filing states, “Under federal law, super PAC’s are prohibited from making contributions to a candidate. Contributions are broadly defined to include cash donations, but also ‘anything of value… for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.’ Additionally, ‘[t]he financing of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of any broadcast or any written, graphic, or other form of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate’s authorized committee, or an agent of either of the foregoing shall be considered a contribution for the purposes of contribution limitations and reporting responsibilities of the person making the expenditure.’”
“Federal law strictly prohibits Fight for the American Dream PAC from using ANY campaign materials--regardless of the source. Not only did they use Jones' footage and still shots, but they even went further by brazenly linking to Jones' official campaign website. The law is clear and the FEC needs to investigate immediately to ensure the integrity of this and other federal elections,” said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit: http://www.factdc.org/
###