{"id":166506,"date":"2016-07-05T10:33:01","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T16:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=166506"},"modified":"2016-07-05T10:33:01","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T16:33:01","slug":"why-a-former-irs-commissioner-thinks-the-fec-is-a-bureaucratic-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/07\/why-a-former-irs-commissioner-thinks-the-fec-is-a-bureaucratic-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a former IRS commissioner thinks the FEC is a \u2018bureaucratic waste\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_166512\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/girardatlarge\/22824941985\/in\/photolist-ALXN3v\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-166512 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Everson-Mark-771x434.jpg\" alt=\"Mark Everson\" width=\"771\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Everson-Mark.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Everson-Mark-336x189.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Everson-Mark-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Rich Girard \/ Creative Commons<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Republican presidential candidate Mark Everson. (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">photo cc info<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Former IRS Commissioner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2015\/aug\/05\/mark-everson-republican-presidential-candidate-polling-debates\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Everson<\/a> was so unhappy about Fox News\u2019 decision to keep him out of the first Republican presidential debate last August, he <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/3986183\/republican-debate-mark-everson\/\" target=\"_blank\">filed<\/a> an <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395182.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">official complaint<\/a> with the Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the former dark horse presidential contender is even more upset that it took the agency 10 months to <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395215.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">dismiss his complaint<\/a> \u2014 after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/blogs\/on-media\/2016\/06\/fec-fox-224990\" target=\"_blank\">deadlocking<\/a> on whether Fox News had violated federal\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/cfr\/text\/11\/110.13\" target=\"_blank\">campaign finance rules<\/a> governing the staging of debates.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This story comes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/07\/01\/19866\/why-former-irs-commissioner-thinks-fec-bureaucratic-waste\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative media organization in Washington, D.C. It\u2019s\u00a0part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/politics\/buying-president-2016?utm_campaign=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo-news&amp;utm_medium=taxonomy-link\" target=\"_blank\">Buying of the President 2016<\/a>. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/politics\/buying-president-2016?utm_campaign=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo-news&amp;utm_medium=taxonomy-link\" target=\"_blank\">Click here<\/a> to read more stories in this investigation.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe FEC should either be abolished or entirely redone,\u201d Everson told the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a bureaucratic waste.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His complaint \u2014 which was dismissed in late May, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395215.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">new documents<\/a> released by the FEC recently\u00a0\u2014 has also added fuel to the bitter infighting between the agency\u2019s three Democratic-aligned commissioners and its three Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Everson alleged that Fox News had failed to use \u201cpre-established objective criteria,\u201d as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/cfr\/text\/11\/110.13\" target=\"_blank\">required by law<\/a>, to determine which White House hopefuls would appear on stage during the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/07\/fox-republican-debate-lowers-threshold-120748\" target=\"_blank\">so-called \u201cundercard\u201d debate in Ohio<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fox News had initially said the top 10 Republicans in the polls would appear at the first presidential debate. Roughly two months before the event, the network announced it would hold an additional debate for other GOP candidates garnering at least 1 percent in the polls.<\/p>\n<p>Ten days before the big day, Fox News <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/07\/fox-republican-debate-lowers-threshold-120748\" target=\"_blank\">relaxed that standard<\/a> to include \u201call declared candidates whose names are consistently being offered to respondents in major national polls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This had the effect of ensuring the appearance of several low-polling, high-profile candidates, such as Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/06\/01\/17197\/9-things-know-about-lindsey-graham\" target=\"_blank\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> of South Carolina, former New York Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/05\/04\/17278\/12-things-know-about-carly-fiorina\" target=\"_blank\">George Pataki<\/a> and businesswoman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/05\/28\/17396\/9-things-know-about-george-pataki\" target=\"_blank\">Carly Fiorina<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Everson did not make the cut.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395193.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">letter to the FEC<\/a>, Fox News argued its decision-making fully \u201ccomplied with the FEC debate regulation\u201d and that Everson\u2019s complaint was \u201cwithout merit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet based on these facts, the FEC\u2019s nonpartisan office of general counsel concluded that <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395204.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">there was reason to believe<\/a> that Fox News had violated the law, and could be fined. Two commissioners <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395215.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">agreed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe office of general counsel said it was a clear violation of our rules,\u201d Democrat Ann Ravel told the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>. \u201cMy job here is to follow the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s reason to believe there may have been a violation,\u201d added independent Steven Walther, who typically votes with the Democrats. \u201cIt was strictly a matter of what the regs say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the FEC\u2019s three Republicans \u2014 Lee Goodman, Caroline Hunter and Matthew Petersen \u2014 voted to find there was <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395215.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">no reason to believe<\/a> that Fox News had violated the law.<\/p>\n<p>They <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395395.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">jointly released a statement<\/a> calling it \u201castonishing\u201d that their own office of general counsel would conclude that Fox News had erred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe commission\u2019s debate regulations cannot be used to impose government restrictions on newsroom decisions and to punish, and even censor, American press organizations,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government should not punish any newsroom\u2019s editorial decision on how best to provide the public information about candidates for office,\u201d Goodman added in his own statement. \u201cHow could expanding debate news coverage from 10 to 17 candidates be against the law?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellen Weintraub, the commission\u2019s third Democrat, <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395501.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">voted to dismiss the complaint<\/a> \u2014 but didn\u2019t go as far as her Republican colleagues, who also <a href=\"http:\/\/eqs.fec.gov\/eqsdocsMUR\/16044395395.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">said the commission<\/a> \u201clacks jurisdiction to investigate or punish Fox News\u2019 activity with respect to the debate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tim Franklin, president of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poynter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Poynter Institute<\/a>, a journalism-focused educational institution, said the FEC\u2019s debate regulation \u201charkens back to the Paleolithic Era of the media.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure how that rule fits with a 2016 media landscape,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>But supporters say the rules are on the books to ensure that debate sponsors \u2014 be those companies, nonprofit organizations or media outlets \u2014 don\u2019t cede control to individual candidates, in turn, giving them the equivalent of a corporate contribution.<\/p>\n<p>Federal law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/cfr\/text\/11\/110.13\" target=\"_blank\">says<\/a> debates must not be structured to \u201cpromote or advance one candidate over another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/fox-targeted-by-fec-dems-in-first-ever-vote-to-punish-debate-sponsorship\/article\/2595240\" target=\"_blank\">second time<\/a> in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB10001424052702303519404579352780239373504\" target=\"_blank\">nearly three years<\/a>, the FEC\u2019s Republicans have ramped up their argument that the agency should not regulate debate sponsors that are media companies and should more fully respect the press\u2019 First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Democratic commissioners stressed that the regulations criticized by their Republican colleagues have been on the books for decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMedia organizations are mentioned specifically in the debate regulations,\u201d said Weintraub. \u201cIt\u2019s our job to interpret those regulations\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not the role of the FEC to determine constitutionality of our rules,\u201d added Ravel. \u201cIf our rules are unconstitutional, there needs to be a court decision that says so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FEC\u2019s ideological disagreements don\u2019t comfort Everson, the Republican presidential candidate who previously served as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/article\/422302\/mark-everson-2016-presidential-candidate\" target=\"_blank\">head of the IRS<\/a> under President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cListen, I know bureaucracy a lot better than the Federal Election Commission, with my pedigree,\u201d Everson told the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey clearly signaled that they weren\u2019t interested in looking at things on a contemporaneous basis,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf there was a time to do something, it was many months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>This story was co-published with <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4391506\/mark-everson-center-for-public-integrity\/?xid=tcoshare\" target=\"_blank\">TIME<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The agency took months to deadlock on a complaint Mark Everson filed against Fox News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[708,134,705,116],"class_list":["post-166506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2016-election","tag-media","tag-money-in-politics","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}