The Federal Election Commission is already in a state of wretched dysfunction, but it will only get worse if Republican members succeed in crippling the agency further when the commission meets on Thursday. The three Republicans on the commission appear ready to take advantage of a temporary vacancy on the three-member Democratic side to push through 3-to-2 votes for a wholesale retreat from existing regulations. Under their proposals, agency workers would no longer be allowed to routinely forward information about potential criminal violations by campaigners to the Justice Department, and the commission’s staff investigators would be severely hobbled in conducting preliminary inquiries. This would provide further aid and comfort to politicians and operatives who run roughshod over campaign laws.
The proposed changes amount to naked subversion from within. The F.E.C.’s own general counsel, Anthony Herman, felt compelled to warn last month against ending regular information sharing with Justice Department officials, a procedure he stressed has “greatly benefited” enforcement of the law and is standard procedure for all regulatory agencies. The proposals are being pushed by Donald McGahn, the Republican vice chairman of the commission who has engineered repeated 3-to-3 standoff votes to stymie approval of staff recommendations for penalties against campaigners found in violation of the law.
Full Article: Sabotage at the Election Commission – NYTimes.com.