Legal Issues
Following the campaign of John Kerry, the Federal Election Commission unanimously voted to levy a $580,000 fine against the Fund. The penalty was the seventh largest in FEC history. The FEC determined that more than 90 percent of the $60 million raised by the Media Fund came from labor unions, corporations or from donors who gave more $5,000 — all contributions barred by federal election rules. Lyn Utrecht represented the Media Fund in the settlement. Erik Smith, president of the Media Fund, would later issue a statement pointing out that the FEC settlement did not find his group in violation of the law.The FEC had already fined a number of the other major 527s for illegal spending during the 2004 elections, including the Democratic-leaning groups MoveOn.org and the George Soros-backed America Coming Together, as well as the Republican-supporting groups Progress for America Voter Fund and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Read more about this topic: Media Fund
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