The Federal Election Commission decided on Thursday to let John McCain withdraw from public financing in the 2008 primaries.
The FEC's entire statement on the matter is contained in an August 21 press release.
At its open meeting today, the Federal Election Commission (FEC/ the Commission) considered four advisory opinions and approved Senator John McCain’s request to withdraw from the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Program.In August, 2007, McCain became certified to accept federal matching funds for the presidential primary campaign. He never drew on the funds, but promised them as collateral for a bank loan to finance his then-struggling campaign.
Later, as his fortunes improved, McCain sought to opt back out of the public financing program and its attendant spending limits. At the time, the FEC lacked a quorum and could not rule on the matter. In the absence of a formal ruling, McCain simply declared that he had withdrawn from the program.
The Democratic National Committee filed an FEC complaint alleging that by using the promise of matching funds as collateral, McCain was bound by the public financing spending limits.
But as of Thursday, he is off the hook.
