Why the FEC can't probe Ilhan Omar's campaign finances, period. WTF?! On Wednesday, the conservative National Legal and Policy Center filed an FEC complaint against Omar seeking a probe into whether the Minnesota Democrat used campaign funds to rendezvous with her alleged lover. The federal agency charged with probing the campaign finance complaint against Rep. Ilhan Omar won’t be able to act on it anytime soon. Under normal circumstances, the FEC’s general counsel could recommend the agency investigate whether Omar’s payments to Mynett were for personal reasons. Then the agency could subpoena the participants involved in the alleged affair and payments to testify under oath about what happened, Holman said. “Unfortunately, the one entity that could conduct a proper investigation and make such determination has closed its doors, so no investigation will soon be forthcoming,” Holman said. WTF?! The Federal Election Commission will no longer have a quorum to conduct business when Commissioner Matthew Petersen resigns at the end of the week. The six-person body needs at least four members to vote on complaints, and Petersen’s departure means there are just three. “The commission cannot meet, provide formal advice, investigate complaints or enforce the law without a quorum,” said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at the watchdog group Public Citizen. Trump in January nominated a Republican, James “Trey” Trainor III of Texas, to the FEC. But his nomination hasn’t moved in the Senate as leadership works out a plan to fill the slots. “There is an ongoing effort to fill all six FEC commissioner seats,” a senior Senate GOP aide said. ”To do that, though, Sen. Schumer and Senate Democrats must replace the two longtime Democratic holdovers. A clean slate of members will go a long way toward fixing some of the perceived dysfunction at the commission.” A Schumer aide added: “Congress should address this issue quickly because we need a fully functioning FEC.” “By law, no more than three Commissioners can represent the same political party, and at least four votes are required for any official Commission action,” the FEC wrote on its website. “This structure was created to encourage nonpartisan decisions.” The remaining commissioners are Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat; Commissioner Caroline Hunter, a Republican; and Commissioner Steven Walther, an independent. President Trump nominated Republican attorney Trey Trainor to serve as an FEC commissioner in 2017, but the Senate has not voted on his nomination. https://politizoom.com/2019/08/27/terrifying-fec-the-election-cops-powerless-going-into-2020/ Though it’s up to the Senate to confirm commissioners to the FEC, the House Administration Committee has jurisdiction over campaign finance matters. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the California Democrat who chairs that panel, said in a statement Tuesday that she planned to probe deeper into the FEC’s dysfunction at an oversight hearing in the coming weeks. “Even with a working quorum of commissioners, the FEC has failed to fulfill its mission to enforce campaign finance laws, protect the integrity of our democracy, and ensure all campaign spending is transparent,” she said in the statement. “I urge the President and Senate to move forward swiftly with nominees to the Commission who will enforce and administer the law fairly.” Despite the FEC drama, Toner said campaign finance statutes remain on the books and noted that campaign finance violations have a statute of limitations of five years. Campaign finance watchdog Fred Wertheimer, who runs the group Democracy 21, said that even as the Justice Department could pursue criminal violations, the FEC has sole jurisdiction over civil penalties.  https://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/fec-cant-function-but-political-money-rules-remain-in-effect With the resignation of Mr. Petersen, a Republican, the White House could call for Mr. Trainor to be confirmed without a Democratic counterpart. The commission cannot have more than three members of either political party, a balanced arrangement that has often led to gridlock. Donald J. Simon, counsel to the independent watchdog group Democracy 21, said the agency had gone “from dysfunctional to nonfunctional.” The only potential upside of the crisis, he said, is if it causes the White House and Senate to agree on an entirely new slate of commissioners to “clean house” at the struggling agency. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/us/politics/federal-election-commission.Hamlin The lack of a quorum will further complicate the ability of the FEC - which has long been ideologically split - to monitor compliance with election law as the 2020 campaign is ramping up. “It’s never a good time for the commission not to have a functioning body,” said Kenneth Gross, former FEC general counsel. “But we are approaching a federal election year and there may be additional matters that are coming up at this time.” The deplenished panel puts pressure on Trump to fill the vacant positions and make good on his campaign promise to address what he called a “rigged” campaign finance system. The White House did not respond to questions Monday about how it plans to address the empty FEC seats. According to a senior GOP Senate aide, there are discussions about nominating a slate of six new appointees and remaking the panel entirely. To do that, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Senate Democrats “must replace the two longtime Democratic holdovers,” said the aide, who requested anonymity to speaking freely about ongoing discussions. “A clean slate of members will go a long way toward fixing some of the perceived dysfunction at the commission.” Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.heralddemocrat.com/news/20190826/gop-appointee-resigns-from-federal-election-commission-leaving-it-without-quorum Looks like Ilhan Ohmar will be long gone and forgotten before facing any campaign finance violation penalties, unless Zoe Lofgren pursues it or Schumer and Trump start over with 6 new commissioners.