Claim against Coleman, group tossed

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The federal election watchdog said information it received on the recount involving ex-Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., didn't support allegations of wrongdoing.

The complaint alleged the Republican National Lawyers Association made illegal corporate campaign contributions and that the Coleman for Senate '08 and later the Coleman Minnesota Recount Committee received the donations, the Federal Election Commission said in a news release.

Coleman unsuccessfully tried to retain his seat in the 2008 election, eventually losing in a recount to Democratic challenger Al Franken.

The complaint also alleged the lawyers association, a 527 organization, didn't register as a political committee and along with the others named in the complaint, didn't disclose contributions in reports to the FEC. A 527 organization is a tax-exempt organization run by special interest groups on issue advocacy and voter mobilization outside of the restrictions imposed on political action committees.

The commission, when announcing its decision Monday, said it found "no reason to believe" the respondents violated the Federal Elections Act because "the available information presented did not support the allegations in the complaint."