So Complicated
It appears Oberweis Dairy might have violated the law by engaging in public dissemination of press materials about the race. It’s a fairly complicated area of campaign finance law to be sure, but it wouldn’t be the first violation for Helicopter Jim….in this cycle, or in this way.
Using corporate resources, a private public relations consultant and a private law firm, Oberweis Dairy – two days before the election – intervened in Oberweis’s favor, attacking the ads and purporting to file a frivolous lawsuit against the DCCC to stop them. The corporate press release accused the DCCC of “misleading the public.” It also referred to Mr. Oberweis and the fact the he is “running for Congress.” This press release is a public communication; it was disseminated within 90 days of an election; it references a federal candidate; and it was almost certainly produced in coordination with that candidate. Thus, it is a corporate “coordinated communication” in violation of 2 U.S.C. § 441b(a) and 11 C.F.R. § 109.21. (See Exhibit C.)
Beyond any doubt, this press offensive and sham litigation represent illegal corporate expenditures. Even if one were to assume that the lawsuit has actually been filed, [1] and that it actually presented a meritorious claim, no press release was necessary to secure any rights of the corporation. Indeed, the sole purpose of a press release is to generate news stories. This particular release, issued in the eleventh hour before the election, was produced via corporate resources and issued only to shape the news coverage in connection with the special election. Thus, it is a blatant and clear violation of the ban against corporate political expenditures in federal elections.
The Commission should immediately investigate this violation of the conciliation agreement, and should institute a civil action for relief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against Jim Oberweis and Oberweis Dairy to enforce the conciliation agreement. It should stop, once and for all, Jim Oberweis’s repeated and transparent attempts to convert Oberweis Dairy resources to the support of his failing campaigns.