Opinion ID: 2773214
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Unconditional Gifts

Text: Section 441a imposes limits on individual campaign contributions made directly to candidates. See 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a)(1)(A) (formerly 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(1)(A)). In 2007, the inflation-adjusted limit for both primary and general election campaign contributions was $2,300, for a total base limit of $4,600 per person per candidate during a single election cycle. See id. § 30116(c)(1) (formerly 2 U.S.C. § 441a(c)(1)); 72 Fed. Reg. 5294, 5295 (Feb. 5, 2007). The statute defines a “contribution” as “any gift, UNITED STATES V. WHITTEMORE 9 subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.” 52 U.S.C. § 30101(8)(A)(i) (formerly 2 U.S.C. § 431(8)(A)(i)). The limit includes “all contributions made by a person, either directly or indirectly, on behalf of a particular candidate, including contributions which are in any way earmarked or otherwise directed through an intermediary or conduit to such candidate.” Id. § 30116(a)(8) (formerly 2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(8)). Section 441f directly addresses so-called “conduit” or “straw donor” contributions. See Goland v. United States, 903 F.2d 1247, 1251 (9th Cir. 1990). It provides: No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution, and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person. 52 U.S.C. § 30122 (formerly 2 U.S.C. § 441f). Whittemore argues that § 441f, on its face, does not prohibit “an unconditional gift made to a third party who subsequently decides to voluntarily contribute to a campaign,” “even if that contribution is made pursuant to the suggestion of the giftor.” Whittemore argues that because the money he transferred to his relatives and employees became “the giftees’ own money” and because the transfers were not “conditioned upon the making of campaign contributions or otherwise, the giftees’ subsequent campaign contributions could not trigger a violation of § 441f” as a matter of law. He further contends that this reading is mandated by the rule of lenity. 10 UNITED STATES V. WHITTEMORE Whittemore’s arguments are foreclosed by our decision in United States v. O’Donnell, 608 F.3d 546 (9th Cir. 2010). In O’Donnell, the defendant arranged to reimburse contributions made by thirteen employees and family members to the Edwards for President campaign. Id. at 548. On appeal, he argued that § 441f did not apply to “straw donor” contributions made from a conduit donor’s funds that were later reimbursed, since the straw donor “actually made” the contribution. Id. at 549. We held that the statutory text and purpose precluded this reading. We first noted that the statutory definition of “contribution” did not address the identity of the donor who actually “makes” the contribution. Id. at 550. We then applied the dictionary definition of contribute—“‘[t]o give or supply in common with others; give to a common fund or for a common purpose’”—to hold that “it is clear that O’Donnell gave the money at issue for the common purpose of advancing the Edwards campaign” and so made a “contribution” within the meaning of the statute. Id. (quoting AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLEGE DICTIONARY 303 (3d ed. 2000)) (alteration in original). We also specifically examined the statute’s use of the word “gift.” “In the context of gifts,” we noted, “the word ‘giving’ connotes the idea of providing from one’s own resources . . . , and thus we refer to the original source rather than the intermediary as the one who gave.” Id. Accordingly, we held that the person who actually transmits the money acts merely as a mechanism, whereas it is the original source who has made the gift by arranging for his money to finance the donation. To identify the individual who has made the contribution, we must look past the intermediary’s essentially ministerial role to the substance of the transaction. Accordingly, UNITED STATES V. WHITTEMORE 11 the statutory language applies when a defendant’s funds go to a campaign either directly from him or through an intermediary. Id. We wrote that our interpretation of § 441f clearly furthered the congressional purpose of “ensur[ing] the complete and accurate disclosure of the contributors who finance federal elections,” since straw donor contributions “undermine transparency no less than false name contributions do by shielding the identities of true contributors.” Id. at 553–54. Whittemore argues that O’Donnell does not control because the transferees here did not act as mere intermediaries. He argues that the legal difference between the intermediaries discussed in O’Donnell and the transferees here is equivalent to the difference between bailees and owners. He contends that because the court failed to instruct the jury regarding Nevada state property law, the jury was prevented from considering this legal difference. We disagree. In O’Donnell, the contributions at issue were made with the straw donors’ own funds, which were later reimbursed. The status of the donated funds under state property law, at the time of their donation, was irrelevant to a determination of who “made” the contribution for the purposes of § 441f. The key issue under § 441f is the source of the funds, regardless of the status of the funds under state property law at the time of the donation. See id. at 550. In this case, the jury instructions required the jury to find that Whittemore knew the named contributors were not in fact the “true source” of the money used for the contributions, and that Whittemore caused those contributions to be made. In light of these findings, each of Whittemore’s transfers 12 UNITED STATES V. WHITTEMORE constitutes a “contribution” under § 441f. The jury’s conclusions that Whittemore made excessive campaign contributions in violation of § 441a(a)(1) and caused a false report to be made to the Federal Election Commission in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001(a)(2) and 2 follow accordingly.