Giffords, a nonprofit started by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, on Wednesday filed a complaint against Federal Election Commission (FEC) under 52 USC § 30109(a)(8)(A), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to compel the FEC to act on Giffords’ four administrative complaints regarding the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Over the past nine months, Giffords complained that NRA the violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by illegally coordinating expenditures with the campaigns of at least seven candidates for federal office, including up to $25 million in illegal contribution to now President Donald Trump. Specifically, Giffords stated that the coordinated expenditures are not independent political spending, because they are “as useful to the candidate as cash,” and should be “treated as contributions under federal law, subject to contribution limits, prohibitions, and reporting requirements.” Giffords complained that NRA “has engaged in a complicated scheme to coordinate its spending with those candidates, while taking steps to conceal its coordination.”
FECA provides administrative complaints with a right of action against the FEC if the FEC fails to act on a complaint within 120 days. It has been over 250 days since Giffords joined the amended Tillis, et al. Complaints, and it has been over 130 days since it last filed the Trump complaint. The FEC has not acted on any of the four administrative complaints.
Giffords is a 501(c)(4) organization that researches, writes, and proposes policies designed to reduce gun violence and mobilizes voters and lawmakers in support of stricter gun laws.