Watchdog: Romney super PAC broke law

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A watchdog group said a super PAC for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign violated U.S. law and called on the Federal Election Commission to investigate.

The Campaign Legal Center, based in Washington, filed a complaint Monday with the FEC, asking the commission to look into paid television advertising by Restore Our Future that used an ad from Romney's 2008 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

The complaint said the super PAC broke the law because such organizations are not permitted to make contributions, direct or in-kind, to candidates -- a ban that includes re-publishing campaign materials "prepared by a candidate," The Hill reported.

"Restore Our Future's expenditure to republish a Romney campaign ad is considered a contribution from the Super PAC to the Romney campaign under FEC regulations, but super PACs are prohibited from contributing to candidates," Paul Ryan, a lawyer for Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement, The Hill reported. "The airing of these ads constitutes a clear violation of federal law by the shadow campaign committee Restore Our Future."

The complaint followed a report in The Hill that Restore Our Future had bought air time for the ad from Romney's 2008 campaign.