FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20463

BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

In the Matter of )

) MUR 7961

Leaders Only Unite PAC, et al. )

)

SUPPLEMENTAL STATEMENT OF REASONS OF

VICE CHAIRMAN SEAN J. COOKSEY

In a Statement of Reasons explaining their dissenting votes in this matter, my colleagues 

claim that “for the first time, a majority of the Commission explicitly determined that the Federal 

Election Campaign Act (FECA)’s personal-use restriction does not apply to leadership PACs,”

1

and that the Commission has “announced a substantive departure from Commission precedent on 

the personal-use prohibition’s application to leadership PACs.”

2

Respectfully, that’s wrong. As described in the Factual and Legal Analysis,3the 

Commission’s decision in this matter follows directly from Advisory Opinion 2008-17 (KITPAC), 

in which the Commission explained that because “a leadership PAC cannot be affiliated with an 

authorized committee[,] [a leadership PAC] is a ‘third party’ for purposes of 11 CFR [§] 

113.1(g)(6).”4Indeed, in explaining her vote against that advisory opinion, Commissioner

Weintraub acknowledged that it “would allow a leadership PAC to pay for any expenses that would 

be deemed a personal use if it were paid for by the principal campaign committee of the 

candidate.”5

The Commission further acknowledged four separate times—in unanimously adopted 

legislative recommendations—that while the Act “makes it illegal for an individual to use 

contributions accepted by a candidate or a candidate’s committee for his or her own personal use 

1 Statement of Reasons of Commissioners Broussard and Weintraub at 1 (Mar. 2, 2023), MUR 7961 (LOU 

PAC, et al.).

2

Id. at 3.

3 Factual & Legal Analysis at 9 (Feb. 1, 2023), MUR 7961 (LOU PAC, et al.).

4 Advisory Op. 2008-17 (KITPAC) at 4 n.4. See also First General Counsel’s Report at 7–8 (Feb. 15, 2013), 

MUR 6506 (Friends of Gregory Meeks, et al.) (“But the [personal use statutory provision] does not extend to other 

committees, such as a leadership PAC.”).

5 Audio File at 12:00, Open Meeting of the Federal Election Commission (Dec. 18, 2008), available at 

https://www.fec.gov/updates/december-18-2008-open-meeting.

MUR796100099
... no corresponding provision covers individuals who convert contributions received by party 

committees, separate segregated funds, leadership PACs, and other political committees to their 

own personal use.”6 The 2013 legislative recommendations went so far as to say that “[l]eadership

PACs present a particularly compelling case” for a legislative amendment subjecting them to the 

personal-use restriction, but “Congress might not have considered the application of the personal 

use prohibition to this particular type of political committee.”7

The KITPAC advisory opinion—which my colleagues’ statement relegates to a footnote—

remains a binding Commission precedent interpreting the personal-use regulation.

8 That precedent 

has not changed.

_________________________________ March 2, 2023

Sean J. Cooksey Date

Vice Chairman

6 Legislative Recommendations of the Federal Election Commission 2013 at 12 (Dec. 17, 2013), available at

https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/legrec2013.pdf; Draft Legislative Recommendations 2013,

Certification (Dec. 17, 2013); Legislative Recommendations of the Federal Election Commission 2012 at 7 (May 10,

2012), available at https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/legrec2012.pdf; Draft Legislative

Recommendations 2012, Certification (May 10, 2012); Legislative Recommendations of the Federal Election

Commission 2011 at 4 (Mar. 16, 2011), available at https://www.fec.gov/resources/cmscontent/documents/legrec2011.pdf; Draft Legislative Recommendations 2011, Certification (Mar. 16, 2011); 

Legislative Recommendations of the Federal Election Commission 2009 at 4 (Mar. 19, 2009), available at

https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/legrec2009.pdf (punctuation altered); Draft Legislative 

Recommendations, Certification (Mar. 19, 2009).

7 Legislative Recommendations of the Federal Election Commission 2013 at 12 (Dec. 17, 2013), available at

https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/legrec2013.pdf.

8 See Interpretive Statement of Commissioner Sean J. Cooksey (May 6, 2021), available at 

https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/2021-05-06_Interpretive_Statement_of_Cmsr_Cooksey.pdf.

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