WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- The Federal Election Commission declined to rule Thursday on whether so-called documentary films are exempt from federal restrictions on political ads.
The FEC' general counsel had recommended filmmakers not be granted a "media exemption" to rules governing political speech, such as that given to broadcast journalists and others. The commissioners declined to take up the issue.
Though the debate focused on the case of filmmaker David Hardy's film, The Rights of the People, the issue of the ads for the Michael Moore film, Fahrenheit 9/11, also comes into play. Moore, an avowed Bush opponent, has made no secret of his desire to see the president defeated in November.
Roll Call said Thursday that commissioners agreed with the general counsel's finding that the proposed advertisements for Hardy's film were "electioneering communications" and could not be paid for with corporate or labor money. "Moreover," the paper said, "if legally funded, such ads would be subject to stringent reporting requirements."
By taking no action on the counsel recommendation to deny the media exemption to filmmakers, it left the issue of Hardy's and Moore's film unresolved. If the FEC had agreed with its general counsel, the paper said, Moore's efforts to advertise his film might have faced restrictions.
