But then came the legal problems: Any work on behalf of the super PAC in connection with the show could be considered an in-kind contribution from Viacom, which would have to report such spending to the FEC.
“Why does it get so complicated to do this?” Colbert complained on his show. “All I’m trying to do is affect the 2012 election. It’s not like I’m trying to install iTunes.”
Colbert has gone all out in his crusade, hiring veteran lawyer Trevor Potter, a former FEC chairman and counsel to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)’s 2008 presidential campaign. (The case has been somewhat awkward for Potter, who also heads the Campaign Legal Center, which opposes Colbert’s plans.)
Neither Colbert nor Potter is talking about the case outside the show. Viacom has also stayed mum.
Now the matter lies with the six-member FEC, a board paralyzed by 3 to 3 partisan standoffs over the proper reach of campaign-finance laws.
Among the questions before the panel: Should Colbert be given a press exemption, generally available to newsgathering operations in order to discuss his “Colbert Super PAC” on the air? Should Viacom have to report any help it gives Colbert as a political contribution? And can Colbert use Viacom resources to pay for super PAC ads that run on other networks?
FEC attorneys have drafted three sets of possible answers, including a far-reaching opinion that would place few limits on what Viacom and Colbert could do. All three options appear to allow Colbert to highlight the super PAC on his show without having to treat it as reportable political spending.
Many campaign-finance activists fear this would allow media companies to secretly fund unlimited political campaigns, perhaps on behalf of their own analysts or pundits.
Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, notes that the FEC is also set to consider a more far-reaching request Thursday to allow federal candidates to raise unlimited funds on behalf of super PACs.
Many conservatives are rooting for Colbert. “I think it’s actually providing his viewers with an inside look at just how convoluted, complex, and stifling our current system of campaign finance regulations are,” wrote Sean Parnell of the Center for Competitive Politics.
Indeed, Colbert has run into some complications. When he greeted supporters outside the FEC last month, Colbert bragged that he took in $31 in donations stuffed in a greasy paper bag. So, the FEC asked, does that mean you’ve already started collecting money for your PAC?
No, his attorneys responded: “They were $1 bills received by Mr. Colbert personally as payment for shaking his hand.”
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