Election panel clears Issa in bankrolling of Davis recall drive
McCain-Feingold law is clarified
By Dana Wilkie
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
December 6, 2005
WASHINGTON – Rep. Darrell Issa's bankrolling of the recall drive against then-Gov. Gray Davis two years ago was allowable under a sweeping new federal campaign finance law, federal regulators announced yesterday.
Although the Federal Election Commission asked its lawyers to investigate Issa's financial involvement in the 2003 recall – indicating there was "reason to believe" the Vista Republican broke the law – the panel based its final ruling on a new clarification of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known by its congressional moniker, the McCain-Feingold law.
Issa, a millionaire who ignited the successful recall of Democrat Davis by contributing at least $1.7 million to the drive, said he was gratified by the ruling.
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In June 2003, Raquelle De La Rocha, a Van Nuys attorney and Davis appointee to the California Parks and Recreation Commission, contended that Issa had broken the provision of federal law that bars federal officeholders from raising so-called "soft money" campaign contributions.
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The FEC investigated, and the complaint against Issa emerged as one of the first test cases of the McCain-Feingold law. The FEC seemed to cleared up the controversy – at least from the federal regulatory end – in August 2004 when it approved an advisory opinion in the matter of Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.Y. In that case, the commission concluded that under the McCain-Feingold law, Corzine's status as a federal officeholder did not place limits on donations he could make from his personal funds to organizations that engaged in voter registration activities.
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