Clinton_0516

...

Emily Cadei

By Emily Cadei

Political Correspondent

0

Share

Newsweek is a Trust Project member

See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.

Every election cycle, campaigns stretch the boundaries of political fundraising a little further. In the 2016 race, the campaign finance experiment has centered on Super PACs, a type of fundraising committee that can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations and labor unions so long as it doesn't coordinate with a campaign.

Allies of Democrat Hillary Clinton are getting even more creative, with a new breed of Super PAC that hasn't been used much before and that, they say, can work hand-in-glove with a campaign.

The term Super PAC, in fact, is a colloquialism that's been used to refer to "independent expenditure-only committees," as authorized by a 2010 appeals court decision. "Independent expenditure" is the campaign finance term for paid advertising that advocates for the election or defeat of a federal candidate (example: a mailing or television ad that says "vote for Rand Paul because he'll keep us out of war"). But Correct the Record, a pro-Clinton organization that's spinning off from liberal Super PAC American Bridge, doesn't intend to do that type of advertising. And that means it's not the kind of Super PAC we're accustomed to seeing.

Read More on U.S.

Instead of an "independent expenditures-only" committee, Correct the Record plans to register with the Federal Election Commission as a Carey PAC, according to Adrienne Watson, the group's spokeswoman.

The term Carey PAC comes from an obscure FEC rule issued in 2011, in response to a U.S. District Court ruling, Carey v. FEC. As the FEC explained in guidance that October, political advocates are allowed to create "non-contribution accounts," which can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations and labor unions as long as they don't contribute to candidates. These accounts can be created "for the purpose of financing independent expenditures, other advertisements that refer to a Federal candidate, and generic voter drives," the FEC said.

Correct the Record plans to develop an online, rapid-response-style website to counter Clinton's detractors, and to coordinate its online activities with the Clinton campaign. It started as a project of American Bridge (founded by Clinton booster David Brock) to respond to the claims made in the book Clinton Cash about the Clinton Foundation's fundraising practices. In theory, having a separate website aimed at opponents and funded by unlimited cash would let the campaign focus its time and money on other campaign operations.

Correct the Record is counting on being able to conduct online activity that's in keeping with the commission taking a pretty hands-off approach to the Internet, having not mentioned websites in its 2011 guidance. It does not consider communicating online on behalf of a campaign to be a contribution "unless the communications are placed for a fee on another person's web site." So if Correct the Record just plans to host messages that it coordinates with the Clinton campaign on its site, and not to pay for online ads elsewhere, it seems legal.

Still, the Carey PAC that Correct the Record is forming lies in a murky area of the law. Major court decisions, like the famed Citizens United case that opened the door to unlimited contributions, focused on paid advertising and other kinds of media, such as an anti-Clinton documentary. The courts didn't address the ability to coordinate rapid response online.

Most of the other 2016 candidates—declared and undeclared—have affiliated Super PACs that are geared toward advertising. Like a Carey PAC, these "independent expenditure-only" Super PACs can:

View 0 Comments

Request Reprint & Licensing

Submit Correction

View Editorial & AI Guidelines