Colbert could face FEC troubles

NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert's Doritos-sponsored run for the U.S. presidency could land him in hot water with the Federal Election Commission.

Although Doritos skirted election laws by sponsoring Colbert's coverage of his own campaign on "The Colbert Report" rather than directly paying his campaign, Colbert and Comedy Central could still run afoul of the FEC, ABC News reported Wednesday.

"The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network," said Lawrence Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission. "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."

Noble said the FEC will likely consider whether Colbert is a real candidate for federal office before taking action. He said one definition of a candidate would require him to raise or spend at least $5,000 in the course of his campaign.