CREW FILES FEC COMPLAINTS AGAINST CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES OF SEN. COBURN (R-OK), REP. DIAZ-BALART (R-FL) AND REP. MUSGRAVE (R-CO)

16 Feb 2007 // Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the campaign committees and treasurers for Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO). The complaints ask the FEC to investigate all three for failing to properly report contributors to their campaigns. The complaint against Sen. Coburn addresses violations committed during the 2004 election cycle, while the complaints against Rep. Diaz-Balart and Rep. Musgrave cover the 2006 election cycle.

All three campaigns demonstrated a pattern of illegal conduct by failing to properly identify their contributors in the days leading up to the election.

The Federal Election Campaign Act requires candidate committees to file reports identifying contributors who donate more than $200. It also requires campaign committees to file, within 48 hours of receipt, the identity of any contributor who gives $1,000 or more within 20 days of an election (“48-hour reports”). In violation of these provisions, Sen. Coburn, Rep. Diaz-Balart and Rep. Musgrave all waited to identify some of their contributors until well after the election.