Group represented by Bush's campaign lawyer pays campaign fines; third largest in FEC history

Indie group agrees to pay campaign fines

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A conservative independent group that ran millions of dollars in ads against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 will pay $750,000 to settle charges that it violated federal campaign laws.

The penalty, announced by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, is the third largest in the history of the commission, which regulates election money. The FEC's six commissioners approved the settlement unanimously.

The group, Progress for America Voter Fund, raised nearly $45 million in 2004, making it the best financed Republican-oriented group in that campaign. The FEC said that it "failed to register and file disclosure reports as a federal political committee and accepted contributions in violation of federal limits."

Benjamin Ginsburg, a lawyer for Progress for America Voter Fund, said the group was not admitting guilt. He blamed the FEC for not setting clearer guidelines for independent groups that seek to influence elections.

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The FEC said that because the group ran ads specifically supporting Bush or against Kerry, it should have registered as a political committee and accepted donations under limits set by law, such as no more than $5,000 from individuals. Instead, the group accepted donations of $1 million or more from wealthy contributors. Among them were A. Jerrold Perenchio, chairman of the Spanish language television network Univision, Texas builder Bob Perry and Texas oilman and investor T. Boone Pickens.