FEC fines Sierra Club for '04 brochure

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The Sierra Club has agreed to pay a $28,000 penalty to settle charges it violated federal campaign finance laws in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

The organization used corporate treasury funds to pay for a brochure, which the Federal Election Commission found expressly advocated the election or defeat of candidates in the 2004 presidential and Senate races.

FEC Chairman Michael Toner said the matter was "one of the most important express advocacy cases" the commission resolved recently.

Express advocacy goes beyond the previous standard of "magic words," such as "vote for" or "vote against." Express advocacy contains language that is "unmistakable, unambiguous and suggestive of only one meaning," the FEC said.

Because the Sierra Club brochure contained express advocacy, it was deemed an independent expenditure. Federal law prohibits corporations from using treasury funds to make independent expenditures.

The pamphlet highlighted the environmental records of President George W. Bush, challenger Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and two Senate candidates. The FEC said the brochure made it clear which records represented were favorable for the Sierra Club.

The FEC found that the pamphlet expressly advocated the election of two candidates and defeat of the other two.