[URL]dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010629/pl/politics_nra_dc_1.html[/URL]
Friday June 29 5:34 PM ET
Court Rules NRA Violated Campaign Finance Law
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the National Rifle
Association (NRA) broke federal law two decades ago when it gave its political action committee
thousands of dollars for election-related expenses.
The gun lobby violated a 1971 federal election law barring corporations from contributing to federal
campaigns by giving $37,833 to its Political Victory Fund, then getting reimbursed, the court said.
``Permitting reimbursement arrangements such as the one at issue here would thus compromise the
separation of corporate and fund treasuries -- a separation that both Congress and the Supreme Court
consider essential to preventing the use of corporate wealth to fund political advocacy,'' the court
wrote.
The Political Victory Fund spent the money on direct mail campaigns, newspaper advertising and
campaigns for and against individual campaigns.
The ruling came after the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) (FEC) said the NRA had
illegally paid the Political Victory Fund during the 1978, 1980 and 1982 federal election cycles.
The court said the NRA was a potential conduit for corporate funding of political activities in 1978 and
1982 because companies had donated substantial amounts of money to the group in those years. It
said donations in 1980 were insufficient to constitute a violation.
The NRA had claimed its activities were protected political speech under the First Amendment.
The NRA and the FEC declined to comment on the case.