Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. Fed. Election Comm'n

• Decision Date: 03 August 2018
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 16-259 (BAH)
• Citation: 316 F.Supp.3d 349
• Parties: CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, Defendant, and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, Defendant-Intervenor
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

316 F.Supp.3d 349

CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS IN WASHINGTON, et al., Plaintiffs,

v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, Defendant,andCrossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, Defendant-Intervenor

Civil Action No. 16-259 (BAH)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed August 3, 2018

Adam J. Rappaport, Stuart C. McPhail, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs

Seth E. Nesin, Harry Jacobs Summers, Kevin Deeley, Federal Election Commission, Washington, DC, for Defendant

Thomas Wesley Kirby, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendant-Intervenor

BERYL A. HOWELL, Chief Judge

Table of Contents

I. BACKGROUND...357

A. PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT TO THE FEC...357

B. FEC'S DISMISSAL OF PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT...360

C. THE INSTANT LITIGATION...364

II. LEGAL STANDARDS...365

A. SUMMARY JUDGMENT UNDER THE APA...365

B. SUMMARY JUDGMENT UNDER THE FECA...366

III. DISCUSSION...367

A. STATUTORY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK...367

1. Statutory Disclosure Requirements for Not-Political Committees Making Independent Expenditures...368

2. The Challenged FEC Regulation...377

B. THE PLAINTIFFS' CHALLENGE TO THE REGULATION IS JUSTICIABLE...381

1. Count II Is Not Time-Barred...381

2. Plaintiffs Have Standing to Bring Count II...383

3. Plaintiffs Have Exhausted Administrative Remedies for Counts II and III...384

C. FEC'S CHALLENGED REGULATION IS INVALID AND VACATED...386

1. 52 U.S.C. §§ 30104(c)(1) and (c)(2)(C) Are Unambiguous...387

2. The Defendants' Alternative Construction of § 30104(c) Is Unsupported...395

3. Vacatur Is Appropriate Remedy for Invalid Regulation...411

D. FEC'S DISMISSAL OF THE PLAINTIFFS' AMENDED ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT WAS CONTRARY TO LAW AND WARRANTS REMAND...415

1. Legal Standard Applicable to Review of FEC Enforcement Actions...416

2. OGC's First Recommendation at Issue in Counts I and II...417

3. OGC's Second Recommendation at Issue in Count III...418

IV. CONCLUSION...422

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Campaign finance law has long recognized the value of disclosure as a means of enabling the electorate to make informed decisions about candidates, to evaluate political messaging, to deter actual, or the appearance of, corruption, and to aid in enforcement of the ban on foreign contributions, which may result in undue influence on American politicians. See Citizens United v. FEC , 558 U.S. 310, 366–71, 130 S.Ct. 876, 175 L.Ed.2d 753 (2010) ; Buckley v. Valeo , 424 U.S. 1, 64–68, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976) ; SpeechNow.org v. Fed. Election Comm'n , 599 F.3d 686, 698 (D.C. Cir. 2010). As the protection of speech is also a fundamental value safeguarded under the First Amendment, disclosure has been upheld as "the least restrictive means of curbing the evils of campaign ignorance and corruption." Buckley , 424 U.S. at 68, 96 S.Ct. 612 ; see also Citizens United , 558 U.S. at 369, 130 S.Ct. 876 (explaining "that disclosure is a less restrictive alternative to more comprehensive regulations of speech").

This case concerns the requisite disclosures about contributors that organizations making independent expenditures, in support of or opposition to particular candidates for federal office, must make, when those organizations are not political committees controlled by, or operating in coordination with, candidates or national political parties. These statutorily mandated disclosures are squarely "part of Congress'[s] effort to achieve ‘total disclosure’ by reaching ‘every kind of political activity’ in order to insure that the voters are fully informed and to achieve through publicity the maximum deterrence to corruption and undue influence possible." Buckley , 424 U.S. at 76, 96 S.Ct. 612 (quoting S. REP. NO. 229, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. at 57 (1971) ). Moreover, an important aspect of this statutory disclosure regime is to further "the government's interest [ ] in preventing foreign influence over U.S. elections." Bluman v. FEC , 800 F.Supp.2d 281, 283, 288 n.3 (D.D.C. 2011) (Kavanaugh, J., for a three-judge District Court) (holding "readily ... constitutional" federal statute "banning foreign nationals ... from making expenditures" on elections), aff'd , 565 U.S. 1104, 132 S.Ct. 1087, 181 L.Ed.2d 726 (2012) ; see also SpeechNow.org , 599 F.3d at 698 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (noting that "requiring disclosure of such information deters and helps expose violations of other campaign finance restrictions, such as those barring contributions from foreign corporations or individuals"). Congress has heard the warning that "holes in campaign finance disclosure rules allow dark money organizations to spend on politics without revealing their donors, potentially hiding foreign sources of funds." Oversight of Federal Political Advertisement Laws and Regulations: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Information Technology of the H. Comm. on Oversight and Gov't Reform , 115th Cong. 55 (2017) (statement of Ian Vandewalker, Senior Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law); see also R. SAM GARRETT, CONG. RESEARCH SERV., RPT. NO. R42042, SUPER PACS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS: OVERVIEW AND ISSUES FOR CONGRESS , Summary page (Sept. 16, 2016) [hereinafter 2016 CRS REPORT], available at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42042.pdf, (noting that, although "[s]uper PACs must report their donors to the FEC ... the original source of contributed funds—for super PACs and other entities—is not necessarily disclosed.").

The plaintiffs, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW") and Nicholas Mezlak, a registered voter in Ohio, initiated this action under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ("FECA"), 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(8)(C), and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 706, against the Federal Election Commission ("FEC"), challenging: (1) the FEC's regulation, codified at 11 C.F.R. § 109.10(e)(1)(vi), as "inconsistent with" FECA's statutory disclosure requirements in 52 U.S.C. § 30104(c) ; and (2) the FEC's allegedly improper dismissal of the plaintiffs' administrative complaint alleging that Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies ("Crossroads GPS" or "CGPS"), and its agents, failed "to comply with the FECA's disclosure requirements" when making independent expenditures ("IEs") in multiple 2012 U.S. Senate races. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 2, 4, 17, ECF No. 1.¹ The plaintiffs seek both injunctive and declaratory relief against the defendant FEC in three counts, one of which survived in full and two of which survived in part, prior motions to dismiss by the FEC and the defendant-intervenor Crossroads GPS. See Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Wash. v. FEC ("CREW "), 243 F.Supp.3d 91, 105 (D.D.C. 2017).

Now pending before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. See generally Pls.' Mot. Summ. J. ("Pls.' Mot."), ECF No. 27; CGPS's Cross-Mot. Summ. J. ("CGPS's Cross-Mot."), ECF No. 28; FEC's Cross-Mot. Summ. J. ("FEC's Cross-Mot."), ECF No. 30. For the reasons set forth below, the plaintiffs' motion is granted, and the FEC's and Crossroads GPS's cross-motions are denied. Accordingly, subsection (vi) of 11 C.F.R. § 109.10(e)(1) is declared invalid and therefore vacated, with the vacatur stayed for 45 days to provide time for the FEC to issue interim regulations that comport with the statutory disclosure requirements of 52 U.S.C. § 30104(c), and the FEC's dismissal decision is declared "contrary to law," with the matter remanded to the FEC, which must conform with this Court's ruling within 30 days, pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(8)(C).²

I. BACKGROUND

Much of the factual and procedural background for this case is set out in this Court's prior Memorandum Opinion resolving the FEC's Partial Motion to Dismiss and Crossroads GPS's Supplemental Motion to Dismiss, CREW , 243 F.Supp.3d at 93–97, and has been supplemented below with information provided in the Administrative Record ("AR"), ECF Nos. 38, 38-1.³

A. PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT TO THE FEC

CREW is a non-profit watchdog organization "committed to protecting the rights of citizens to be informed about the activities of government officials, ensuring the integrity of government officials, protecting our political system against corruption, and reducing the influence of money in politics." Compl. ¶¶ 7–8. In furtherance of this mission, "CREW monitors the activities of those who run for federal office as well as those groups financially supporting candidates for office or advocating for or against their election." Id. ¶ 10. Nicholas Mezlak is a U.S. citizen registered to vote in Ohio. Id. ¶ 17.

On November 14, 2012, CREW and two individual plaintiffs, other than Mezlak, filed an administrative complaint with the FEC, claiming that Crossroads GPS and its agents failed properly to report contributions for independent expenditures. Id. ¶ 55; AR 1–17 (Admin. Compl. 1–17).⁴ This claim was triggered by press reports that, on August 30, 2012, American Crossroads, a "super PAC" affiliated with Crossroads GPS, hosted an event in Tampa, Florida, with approximately 70 attendees. AR 122–25 (Am. Admin. Compl., Ex. B, Sheelah Kolhatkar, Exclusive: Inside Karl Rove's Billionaire Fundraiser , BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, Aug. 31, 2012 ("Kolhatkar, Rove's Fundraiser "); AR 103 (Am. Admin. Compl. ¶ 20) (citing id. , Ex. C, Democracy Now, Interview with Sheelah Kolhatkar (Sept. 5, 2012), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyWZkzCUm8).⁵ The plaintiffs call the event a "fundraiser," AR 103 (Am. Admin. Compl. ¶ 20), while Crossroads GPS says the event was a "meeting," AR 79 (CGPS's Admin. Resp. at 7); see also CGPS's Mem. Supp. Cross-Mot. Summ. J. & Opp'n Pls.' Mot. ("CGPS's Opp'n") at 15, ECF No. 28 (describing event as "informational meeting"). No matter the characterization, the parties do not dispute that, at the Tampa event, a multimillion-dollar "matching challenge" contribution was revealed and donations to Crossroads GPS were solicited, as detailed below.

Karl Rove, an unpaid advisor to Crossroads GPS and...