Last updated on Monday, May 5, 2008
(BLOOMINGTON) - An Indiana University law professor says the American Leadership Project, a 527 group that has been putting out ads critical of Senator Barack Obama in Indiana, may be in trouble with the Federal Election Commission.
Professor Emeritus William Popkin, a tax law professor at Indiana University, says the ALP could be violating the 527 tax law by not also registering as a Political Action Committee, however, also thinks the complaint filed by the Obama campaign against the group with the FEC probably won't succeed in generating their desired result.
Like many groups that produce supposedly "issue-oriented" ads during election seasons, the American Leadership Project is treading along the edge of the cliff of legality, by not using so-called "magic words" like "vote for Candidate X" or "defeat Candidate Y," however, when their collected body of advertisements is examined, it's clear to see the ones about Senator Hillary Clinton are positive, and the ones about Senator Obama are negative.
However, Professor Popkin states the issue of whether or not the ads are the "functional equivalent" of candidate-focused ads isn't addressed in the Obama campaign complaint.
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