Your web browser is not supported You're using Internet Explorer, some features might not work. Please switch to another browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for a better experience.


An official website of the United States government Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Federal Election Commission | United States of America Calendar
           Glossary
          Search
              Search


Menu
      Home
      Campaign finance data
        All data
            Raising
            Spending
            Loans and debts
            Filings and reports
            Candidates
            Committees
            Bulk data
            Campaign finance statistics
        Find elections. Search by state or ZIP code
          Look up contributions from specific individuals
      Help for candidates and committees
        All compliance resources
            Guides
            Forms
            Dates and deadlines
            Trainings
        Learn about electronic filing
          Find and contact your committee's analyst
      Legal resources
        All legal resources
            Advisory opinions
            Enforcement
            Statutes
            Legislation
            Regulations
            Court cases
            Policy and other guidance
        Search across legal resources
          Search guidance documents
      About
        All about the FEC
            News and announcements
            Commission meetings
            Mission and history
            Leadership and structure
            Reports about the FEC
            Careers
            Working with the FEC
            Contact
        Introduction to campaign finance and elections


- Home
- ›
      FEC Record: Litigation
- ›
      CREW v. FEC

FEC Record: Litigation*CREW v. FEC*February 1, 2007 On January 12, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the district court's summary judgment in favor of the FEC, finding that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) lacked standing to challenge the Commission's dismissal of its administrative complaint. Background According to the administrative complaint CREW filed during the 2004 campaign, Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, provided Kenneth Mehlman, campaign manager for Bush-Cheney '04, a master list of conservative activists. The administrative complaint did not seek as relief information about the precise dollar value of the list. On October 19, 2004, the Commission voted to take no further action in this matter and to close the file. Although the FEC found the master list to be an unreported, in-kind prohibited corporate contribution, it appeared to be "limited in size and impact." The Office of General Counsel recommended that the Commission "exercise its prosecutorial discretion and take no further action" in the matter. Court decision On December 13, 2004, CREW filed suit to challenge the FEC's decision not to pursue further investigation. The FEC filed a motion for summary judgment on April 15, 2005, arguing that CREW lacked standing to pursue the action. The motion was granted by the district court on November 14, 2005. In order to have standing, the plaintiff must satisfy three requirements: injury, redressability and causation. The injury standard is met when the plaintiff suffers an actual, not abstract, invasion of a concrete, legally protected interest. Redressability is proved when it is likely, not merely speculative, that a favorable court decision will redress the injury. Lastly, when the injury is fairly traceable to the defendant's action in question, the causation standard is satisfied. CREW argued that the FEC should have required Bush-Cheney '04 to assign a precise monetary value to the master list and publicly disclose that figure to help CREW in its mission of "empowering citizens." In order to have standing, however, the plaintiff must prove it has suffered an injury in fact to its own interests, not simply assert that it would be unable to help others achieve abstract goals. CREW cannot vote, nor does it have any members who participate in the political process. As a result, the appeals court upheld the district court's conclusion that CREW could not have suffered from a lack of information in the voting process.Like the district court, the court of appeals also found that CREW was unable to prove standing based on the standards of redressability and causation. CREW complained that the FEC's failure to require Bush-Cheney '04 to publicly disclose and report the monetary value of the master list was a violation of the Act. However, the court noted that while the Act requires the FEC to negotiate a conciliation agreement after a "reason to believe" determination and "probable cause," the Act does not require that disclosure of information be part of the conciliation agreement. Therefore, the Commission is not legally bound to requiring, or the court granting, the disclosure of the information to redress the situation.To prove causation, the alleged harm must be fairly traceable to the defendant's action. The court inferred that the alleged harm suffered by CREW was based on the FEC's decision to dismiss the complaint in order to focus its resources on more pertinent matters. The court did not find that the FEC violated any legal principle when it dismissed the administrative complaint because the FEC retains prosecutorial discretion and is not expected to bring every administrative complaint to court. In support of its ruling, the court cited Common Cause v. FEC, 108 F.3d 413 (D.C. Cir. 1997). Under circumstances similar to those in CREW's case, Common Cause was held not to have standing. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 04-2145.
 Author
          Carrie Hoback


Read next: Unity '08 v. FEC
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


About
          Careers
          Press
          Contact
   Privacy and security policy
          Plain language
          Accessibility statement
          Strategy, budget and performance
 No FEAR Act
          Open government
          Protected Voices
          USA.gov
          Inspector General
 FOIA
          OpenFEC API
          GitHub repository
          Release notes
          FEC.gov status


Federal Election Commission
 The FEC's Twitter page
            The FEC's YouTube page Sign up for FECMail
 This information is produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.


Hide glossary Glossary Search terms