The Hill has a very interesting report on what looks like Fred Thompson’s abuse of the FEC’s “testing the waters” provision, which allows potential candidates to avoid making finance disclosures while they’re still deciding whether or not to run for office. By pretending not to be a an actual candidate, Thompson could avoid FEC filing requirements until October, giving him an advantage over his rivals.

Under the “testing the waters” clause in FEC law, potential candidates are allowed to conduct some initial polling and minimal fundraising to aid them in their decision. They may not refer to themselves as candidates, advertise, or “raise more money than what is reasonably needed to test the waters or amass funds (seed money) to be used after candidacy is established.” But, as the article reports:

Thompson attended at least one $2,300 fundraiser in Nashville this week, and as The Hill reported earlier this month, 100 of his supporters were asked to raise a total of about $4.7 million.

The Hill reported last week that Thompson has hired a Midwest/Northeast finance director, a move that could be seen as indicating he has made up his mind….

One Republican strategist and attorney said Thompson has been “amassing a lot of money, hiring staff and traveling to primary states … all of which is indicative of an ongoing campaign, not deciding whether or not to run.”

The operative added that Thompson’s actions of the last month are “inconsistent with the testing-the-waters phase and more like a candidate.”

Once Thompson does “officially” begin to campaign, his opponents could file a complaint with the FEC alleging that his actions so far have been in violation of the “testing” clause.

TPM’s Election Central is also watching this story — as, of course, will be all the other campaigns in the race.

Posted by Paul Curtis
Monday, July 2, 2007 at 3:10 pm

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