FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20463

BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

In the Matter of ) 

 ) 

Keeping America in Republican Control PAC ) 

and H. Russell Taub, in his official ) MUR 7479

capacity as treasurer ) 

 ) 

H. Russell Taub ) 

 

STATEMENT OF REASONS OF VICE CHAIR ALLEN DICKERSON AND 

COMMISSIONERS SEAN J. COOKSEY AND JAMES E. “TREY” TRAINOR, III 

H. Russell Taub was committing fraud. While he represented Keeping America in 

Republican Control PAC (“KAIRC PAC”) as a legitimate political committee when soliciting over 

$1.5 million, in truth, he was pocketing much of the money and spending it on himself.1 The 

Commission received a complaint against Taub and KAIRC PAC alleging as much, as well as 

other campaign-finance violations, from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust on 

August 16, 2018.2

But before the Commission could investigate Mr. Taub, the Department of Justice caught 

up to him first. In early 2019, Taub was charged with and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and knowing 

and willful violations of campaign-finance law.3 He was sentenced to three years in prison and 

another three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution.4

What few proceeds remained were seized to satisfy a small fraction of that order.5

 

1 MUR 7479 (KAIRC PAC, et al.), Supplement to First General Counsel’s Report, Attachment 2: Proposed 

Factual and Legal Analysis (Dec. 7, 2020) at 9-10 (“Taub used more than $1 million of the contributions that KAIRC 

PAC and KOIRC PAC received to pay for personal expenses, including transfers to his personal bank accounts, and 

for the payment of personal expenses such as ‘travel, hotels, restaurants, clothing, cigars, adult entertainment, and 

escort services.’” (quoting Criminal Information at 7-8, United States v. Harold Russell Taub, 1:19CR00015 (D. R.I. 

Feb. 12, 2019)).

2 MUR 7479 (KAIRC PAC, et al.), Complaint (Aug. 16, 2018). 

3 See Amended Judgment and Restitution List, United States v. Harold Russell Taub, 1:19CR00015-01 (D. 

R.I. Jul. 20, 2020). 

4 Id. 

5 Id.

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Notwithstanding this successful criminal prosecution, the Office of General Counsel 

(“OGC”) wanted to pursue Taub and KAIRC PAC further. OGC recommended that the 

Commission investigate for the sole purpose of requiring KAIRC PAC to register and report its 

political activity to the Commission.6 The Commission rejected that recommendation and voted 

4-2 to dismiss the matter.7

Dismissal under these circumstances is consistent with the Commission’s longstanding 

practice of declining to pursue cases where there has already been adequate enforcement and 

vindication of the Commission’s interests by other government agencies.8 We have done so even 

where, in theory, the Commission might seek some further remedy from the respondent, such as 

additional fines or amended committee reports.

9

The reason is simple: our resources are limited, and we do not serve the public’s interests 

by duplicating other agencies’ work or pursuing pyrrhic victories. This is especially true when the 

Commission faces a backlog of cases where we might undertake original investigations.10 Justice 

 

6 See MUR 7479 (KAIRC PAC, et al.), Supplement to First General Counsel’s Report (Dec. 7, 2020). 

7 MUR 7479, Certification.

8 See Statement of Reasons of Chairman Danny L. McDonald, Vice Chairman David M. Mason, and 

Commissioners Karl J. Sandstrom, Bradley A. Smith, Scott E. Thomas, and Darryl R. Wold, Pre-MUR 385 (Phillip 

R. Davis) (May 7, 2001) (“Because the violations at issue have been addressed by the Justice Department in a criminal 

prosecution and a further expenditure of resources is not warranted relative to other matters pending before the 

Commission, we exercised our prosecutorial discretion by not taking further action.”).

9 See, e.g., MUR 6865 (Jose Susumo Azano Matsura) (declining to further pursue Azano’s 52 U.S.C. §§ 30121 

and 30122 knowing and willful violations after criminal prosecution for same activity, and sentence of three years’ 

incarceration, assessment of $3,700, and additional restitution of $560,995); MUR 6761 (Kenneth A. Barfield) 

(declining to further pursue Barfield’s knowing and willful violation of 52 U.S.C. §§ 30102(b), 30102(c), 30114, 

30116, 30122, and 30125(e), to further pursue action against Barfield, who had pleaded guilty to three criminal counts, 

including “Embezzlement of Funds Contributed to a Federal Candidate,” was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison, 

and was ordered to pay $2,940,821 in restitution); Factual & Legal Analysis at 1-2, MUR 7072 (Babulal Bera) (Jan. 

4, 2017) (declining to pursue further action against perpetrator of conduit scheme “among the largest [ever] 

considered” after Bera pleaded guilty to one criminal count each under 52 U.S.C. §§ 30116(a)(1)(A) and 30122 and 

was sentenced to a prison term of one year and one day, supervised release for a term of 36 months, and a criminal 

fine of $100,000, while also noting statute of limitations concerns and respondent’s advanced age); Factual & Legal 

Analysis at 2, 5, MUR 6231 (Glenn Marshall) (Nov. 17, 2009) (declining to further pursue action against Marshall, 

who had pleaded guilty to five criminal counts for knowing and willful violations of provisions now codified at 52 

U.S.C. §§ 30118 and 30122 and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of 

$467,612.62); Factual & Legal Analysis at 1, MUR 6232 (Gladwin Gill) (Nov. 17, 2009) (declining to further pursue 

action against Gill who had pleaded guilty to one criminal count of making contributions in the name of another in 

violation of the provision now codified at 52 U.S.C. § 30122 and was sentenced to one year and one day in federal 

prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was fined $200,100).

10 See Statement of Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub On the Senate’s Votes to Restore the Federal Election 

Commission to Full Strength (Dec. 9, 2020), available at https://www.fec.gov/resources/cmscontent/documents/2020-12-Quorum-Restoration-Statement.pdf. 

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having already been done in this case, we dismissed this matter as an exercise of our prosecutorial 

discretion under Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821, 831 (1985). 

______________________________ April 6, 2021_______________ 

Allen Dickerson Date

Vice Chair

_________________________________ April 6, 2021_______________ 

Sean J. Cooksey Date

Commissioner

_________________________________ April 6, 2021_______________ 

James E. “Trey” Trainor, III Date

Commissioner

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