Don McGahn was one of the most principled members of the FEC

Federal Election Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub’s attack on former FEC commissioner Donald F. McGahn was misleading [“A disquieting pick for White House counsel,” op-ed, Dec. 11]. Ms. Weintraub claimed Mr. McGahn said, “I’m not enforcing the law as Congress passed it. I plead guilty as charged.” However, the article containing that quote noted, “McGahn’s admission of ‘guilt,’ however, came with a catch: He argued that it wasn’t his job to enforce this law as Congress passed it. Instead, he said, the commission’s job was to enforce the law as it’s been upheld by the judicial branch of government.”

Mr. McGahn made an important and correct point: The Supreme Court has ruled that many campaign finance laws are unconstitutional. If Mr. McGahn had said he would “ignore decisions of the Supreme Court,” he would face just and vociferous criticism. Mr. McGahn was one of the most principled people to serve on the FEC. Indisputably, he was influential and consequential. Ms. Weintraub complained that the FEC is dysfunctional. Yet Mr. McGahn left the FEC three years ago, while she has served 14 years and is the longest-serving current commissioner. Fair-minded readers will draw their own conclusions.

Bradley A. Smith, Washington

The writer, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, was a member of the Federal Election Commission from 2000 to 2005.