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Gravel Fails in Bid to Muzzle Virtually Silent Pro-Clinton 527
Posted by Josh Gerstein
Sun, 2 Mar 2008 at 8:39 PM
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Ultra-longshot Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Gravel has failed in his bid to silence a so-called 527 organization formed by backers of Senator Clinton, the American Leadership Project. On Friday, a federal judge in Toledo, Ohio rejected Mr. Gravel's request for a temporary restraining order barring the group from running a television ad touting Mrs. Clinton's record.
In a seven-page ruling, Judge Jack Zouhary said the law required Mr. Gravel to take his complaints first to the Federal Election Commission. The judge said the former Alaska senator's complaints that the commission lacks a quorum at the moment were no ground to excuse him from going through the process Congress established.
"Plaintiff cannot avoid the FEC by taking a shortcut through the federal courts, even if Plaintiff believes the required statutory procedure will take him nowhere. Congress has made it clear where he must start his journey, and that is at the steps of the FEC, not the Toledo courthouse," the judge wrote.
The American Leadership Project formed last month and there were early reports that it was seeking to raise $10 million. It quickly posted a commercial-length video on the Web, but with two days to go before the critical Ohio and Texas primaries the organization has yet to air a single ad.
Mr. Gravel said that the Web video "clearly" advocated Mrs. Clinton's election. However, organizers of the group insisted that it was strictly about issues. It is worth noting that if they acknowledge publicly or in fundraising appeals that the purpose of the group is to support Mrs. Clinton, the FEC would almost certainly deem them to be a political action committee which would preclude them from accepting large donations.
It would also be legally tricky for active fundraisers for Mrs. Clinton to have any involvement with the group, though an over-the-transom contribution might be permissible. In any event, the lack of any sign of public activity by the group seems to signal that donors may have decided they don't want the legal headaches.
A spokesman for the so-called 527 group, Roger Salazar, said Friday that the judge's ruling was expected. "It's not surprising," he said. We've been very careful to follow all of the rules and regulations that have been established for this type of committee."
Asked when or if the American Leadership Project will take to the airwaves, Mr. Salazar demurred. "We'll keep you posted."
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