Falwell cleared of FEC charges News
Falwell cleared of FEC charges

[JURIST] According to the attorney for Rev. Jerry Falwell [official website], the Federal Election Commission (FEC) [official website] on Monday dismissed a Campaign Legal Center [official website] complaint [PDF text] against the evangelist in a 6-0 decision. According to the Campaign Legal Center, Jerry Falwell and two associated, tax-exempt nonprofit organizations broke election laws when they stated that, "voting for principle this year means voting for the re-election of George W. Bush. The alternative, in my mind, is simply unthinkable," in an internet newsletter July 1, 2004. The complaint also alleged that the organizations solicited funds for the Campaign for Working Families, a federal political action committee (PAC), on their website. Federal law prohibits corporations from making political communications to, or raising PAC funds from, the general public. A similar complaint lodged with the IRS [PDF text], stating the activities violated tax code section 501(c)(3) [text] is pending. AP has more.