Election panel clears Issa in bankrolling of Davis recall drive

[question everything]

Election panel clears Issa in bankrolling of Davis recall drive

McCain-Feingold law is clarified

By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

December 6, 2005

WASHINGTON – Rep. Darrell Issa's bankrolling of the recall drive against then-Gov. Gray Davis two years ago was allowable under a sweeping new federal campaign finance law, federal regulators announced yesterday.

Although the Federal Election Commission asked its lawyers to investigate Issa's financial involvement in the 2003 recall – indicating there was "reason to believe" the Vista Republican broke the law – the panel based its final ruling on a new clarification of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known by its congressional moniker, the McCain-Feingold law.

Issa, a millionaire who ignited the successful recall of Democrat Davis by contributing at least $1.7 million to the drive, said he was gratified by the ruling.

(snip)

In June 2003, Raquelle De La Rocha, a Van Nuys attorney and Davis appointee to the California Parks and Recreation Commission, contended that Issa had broken the provision of federal law that bars federal officeholders from raising so-called "soft money" campaign contributions.

(snip)

The FEC investigated, and the complaint against Issa emerged as one of the first test cases of the McCain-Feingold law. The FEC seemed to cleared up the controversy – at least from the federal regulatory end – in August 2004 when it approved an advisory opinion in the matter of Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.Y. In that case, the commission concluded that under the McCain-Feingold law, Corzine's status as a federal officeholder did not place limits on donations he could make from his personal funds to organizations that engaged in voter registration activities.

(snip)


Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051206/news_1n6issa.html

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Sell a Mayor or buy one haha

Big Money rule.

[niyad]

2. and just who appointed the election commissioners?

[zbdent]

3. Clarification requested

was this "sweeping new federal campaign finance law" (which cleared Issa) enacted AFTER the recall drive?

If so, this negates DeLay's contention that he was cleared of the conspiracy charge because the definition came "after" the conspiracy . . .