Federal Election Commission Mail 20 Months Too Late

One reason for the recent visit of my daughter, Carole Minkin, from California, was to help go through a lifetime of pictures, and what had been considered to be very important papers of the past.

Suddenly, we came upon a certified legal envelope containing an answer as follows: 

"This is in reference to the complaint you filed with the Federal Election Commission dated December 13, 1999, as supplemented by material received from you on March 28, 2000, concerning the Buchanan Reform Inc. Committee."

I had complained that Pat Buchanan people had violated 2 U.S.C #441d, a provision in the Federal Campaign Act of 1971, by not putting a disclaimer on solicitations on the Internet. But due to the circumstances, I had decided to take no action and close the file.

The date of this action was July 18, 2009, nearly 20 months after the complaint and almost over a year after the election. 

In the 12 pages of discussion of the complaint, I also read a letter I had written to local news outlets at the time. Along with copies of the report,  I said:

Dear Editor:

"This is a copy of the Federal Election Commission against the Buchanan Reform Inc. and its Treasurer, filed December 13, 1999. Now, years after the filing, the complaint was dismissed as you can see. I feel that if the action would have taken place in a timely manner, perhaps the outcome of the fiasco which overcame the Reform Party might have been changed.

So, I decided not to seek the judicial review as noted in the second-to-the-last paragraph.  It is almost like being a winner in a class action lawsuit; I have had that occur three times.  In one, I received 2 cents; in another I received 13 cents, and in the case of a GMC Pickup Gas Tank, I was to receive $100, but that never came through.

At least I have something for my memoirs, as they said I was apparently correct in my complaint. So much for the Government Ethics, etc., and the things that are going on now."

Thanks for letting me share my memory with you.