UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

____________________________________ 

 ) 

LIBERTARIAN NATIONAL ) 

COMMITTEE, INC., ) Civ. No. 11-562 (RLW-MG-RBW) 

 ) 

 Plaintiff, ) THREE-JUDGE COURT 

 ) 

 v. ) 

 ) ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, ) DEFENSE TO THE FIRST 

) AMENDED COMPLAINT 

 Defendant. ) 

____________________________________) 

DEFENDANT FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION’S 

ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

TO THE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT 

Defendant Federal Election Commission (“FEC” or “Commission”) responds to the First 

Amended Complaint of plaintiff Libertarian National Committee, Inc. (“LNC”) as follows: 

GENERAL DENIAL 

Any allegation not specifically responded to below is DENIED. 

SPECIFIC DENIALS AND RESPONSES 

The Commission responds as follows to the numbered paragraphs of the First Amended 

Complaint: 

1. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. This paragraph also contains plaintiff’s 

characterization of provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”), 2 

U.S.C. §§ 431-57, which speak for themselves, and conclusions of law, to which no 

response is necessary. 

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2. DENY that 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a or 441i forbids a national party committee like LNC to 

solicit a bequest that exceeds FECA’s annual contribution limits, so long as that party 

committee accepts or receives funds from that bequest only in amounts that comply 

with FECA’s annual contribution limits and in a manner consistent with the 

Commission’s relevant regulations and advisory opinions. 

3. DENY that the application of 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a or 441i to the contribution, 

solicitation, acceptance, or spending of decedents’ bequests violates the First 

Amendment. This paragraph contains plaintiff’s characterizations of the First 

Amended Complaint, which speaks for itself. 

4. ADMIT that plaintiff LNC is the national committee of the Libertarian Party of the 

United States, that LNC is a not-for-profit corporation, and that LNC maintains an 

office in Washington, D.C. The Commission is without knowledge or information 

sufficient to admit or deny the other factual allegations in this paragraph. 

5. ADMIT that defendant FEC is the federal government agency charged with the 

administration and civil enforcement of FECA. The Department of Justice prosecutes 

criminal violations of FECA. 

6. DENY that this three-judge Court has jurisdiction over the claims made in the First 

Amended Complaint. ADMIT that a single-judge district court would have subjectmatter jurisdiction over the claims made in the First Amended Complaint. DENY 

that the matter should be immediately certified to the United States Court of Appeals 

for the District of Columbia Circuit for consideration en banc pursuant to 2 U.S.C. § 

437h. It is the responsibility of a district court with jurisdiction over this matter to 

create a factual record that is sufficient for that court to determine which 

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constitutional claims, if any, merit certification to the Court of Appeals and that is 

sufficient for the proper adjudication of LNC’s claims. 

7. ADMIT that venue is proper in this Court. 

8. This paragraph contains plaintiff’s characterization of a provision of FECA, which 

speaks for itself. 

9. This paragraph contains plaintiff’s characterization of a provision of FECA and 

amendment to FECA, which speak for themselves. This paragraph also contains a 

conclusion of law, to which no response is necessary. 

10. This paragraph contains plaintiff’s characterization of provisions of FECA, which 

speaks for themselves. 

11. This paragraph contains plaintiff’s characterizations of a provision of FECA and the 

Commission’s advisory opinions, which speak for themselves. 

12. This paragraph contains conclusions of law, to which no response is necessary. 

13. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. 

14. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. 

15. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. This paragraph also contains conclusions of law, 

to which no response is necessary. 

16. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. 

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17. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. This paragraph also contains conclusions of law, 

to which no response is necessary. 

18. The Commission incorporates by reference all responses contained in the preceding 

paragraphs. 

19. DENY that a promise to provide funds to a political party by bequest cannot create 

actual or apparent corruption and cannot be used to circumvent contribution limits to 

political candidates. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient 

to admit or deny the remaining factual allegations in this paragraph. This paragraph 

also contains conclusions of law, to which no response is necessary. 

20. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. 

21. This paragraph contains conclusions of law, to which no response is necessary, and 

plaintiff’s characterizations of judicial decisions, which speak for themselves. 

22. This paragraph contains conclusions of law, to which no response is necessary, and 

plaintiff’s characterization of a judicial decision, which speaks for itself. 

23. DENY that the application of 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a or 441i to decedents’ bequests 

violates the First Amendment. This paragraph also contains conclusions of law, to 

which no response is necessary. The Commission is without knowledge or 

information sufficient to admit or deny the factual allegations in this paragraph. 

24. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. This paragraph also contains conclusions of law, 

to which no response is necessary. 

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25. DENY that 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a or 441i forbids a political party to solicit bequests that 

exceed FECA’s annual contribution limits, so long as that party accepts or receives 

funds from such bequests in amounts that comply with FECA’s annual contribution 

limits and in a manner consistent with the Commission’s relevant regulations and 

advisory opinions. This paragraph also contains conclusions of law, to which no 

response is necessary, and plaintiff’s characterizations of a judicial decision, which 

speaks for itself. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to 

admit or deny the factual allegations in this paragraph. 

26. The Commission is without knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the 

factual allegations in this paragraph. 

27. DENY. 

PRAYER FOR RELIEF 

 No response is required, but the relief requested by plaintiff should be denied. 

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 

 The First Amended Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 

 Respectfully submitted, 

Phillip Christopher Hughey 

Acting General Counsel 

chughey@fec.gov 

 

David Kolker (D.C. Bar No. 394558) 

Associate General Counsel 

dkolker@fec.gov 

 

Harry J. Summers 

Assistant General Counsel 

hsummers@fec.gov 

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/s/ Kevin P. Hancock 

Kevin P. Hancock 

 Attorney 

 khancock@fec.gov 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

999 E Street NW 

 Washington, DC 20463 

June 13, 2011 (202) 694-1650 

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