They got warning letters from the FEC, but were not hit with financial penalties.
But after the FEC ruled that he qualified, he withdrew, saying he didn't need public funds.
It's Mason's claim that the FEC, not McCain, has the authority to make that decision.
What happens if the FEC doesn't require outside groups to disclose the source of their funding?
Moreover, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has defined independence so narrowly that it is almost meaningless.
Should that loss have to be reported to the FEC on a dollar-per-auto-worker-vote basis?
Whether it's at the FEC or in a broader criminal inquiry, those donors will be asked questions.
Whatever the FEC decides, it'll show up in political ads you'll see and hear this election season.
The FEC has one vacancy, so all but one of its members must agree on a rule change.
It sued the FEC on free-speech grounds, and the case came before the Supreme Court earlier this year.
But the FEC has four vacancies -- and no quorum -- to vote on whether to allow McCain's withdrawal.
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FEC, the case that extended First Amendment rights to corporations and unions, overturning campaign-finance limits Congress placed on them.
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The question will be politically, in part, whether anybody wants to take that risk without asking the FEC first.
The hardest part was keeping it secret for so long because there's all these FEC rules and equal-time rules.
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In tracking this information, the FEC has compiled fund-raising data from the 19 people who have officially declared their candidacies.
Bush-Cheney campaign chairman Marc Racicot and Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie called the FEC decision "irresponsible" in a joint statement.
The feature, available at www.fec.gov, shows circles proportional to candidates' fund raising amounts in various ZIP codes across the country.
Obama is pleased the FEC took this important step in preserving the public financing system, which is why he sought the opinion.
CNN: McCain attacks Obama for opting out of public financing
Rep. Dan Burton, the chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, sent the FEC a letter asking for the review.
The FEC must now implement this new exception to campaign finance rules.
With the FEC unlikely to act, Kerry sought out new character witnesses.
The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the FEC, but the lack of a quorum has stalled assessment of the complaint.
CNN: McCain attacks Obama for opting out of public financing
To pass the Henserling Bill, HR 1606, to overturn the court decision and to basically ratify the prior regulation issued by the FEC.
But the current FEC chairman, David Mason, has been left out in the cold, his renomination dropped without explanation by the White House.
But, again, I think the official rendering of that decision would come, as the story notes, in the filing of that paperwork with the FEC.
"There's no way Hans is making it through, " says one lawyer close to the nominating process who requested anonymity because his practice involves FEC matters.
First, he asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to prohibit Swift Boat vets from airing ads questioning his performance before and after he left Vietnam.
Only one current FEC commissioner, Democrat Ellen Weintraub, remains in place.
The Hagelin faction is challenging the FEC decision in the courts.
Republicans out-raised Democrats in all but four weeks between December 17, 2009 and October 8, 2010, the latest week for which reliable FEC figures are available.
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