The Federal Election Commission was unable to decide whether the West Virginia Republican Executive Committee could use proceeds from the sale of their former headquarters to make lease payments on their current headquarters.

“There were a couple of questions posed and they could come to agreement only on the second one,” said FEC spokesperson Judith Ingram in a phone interview with West Virginia Watchdog. “As far as the Commission is concerned it’s over.”

The Commission met yesterday to decide on an Advisory Opinion request submitted by State Party Chair Doug McKinney in November 2009. In the request McKinney asks the Commission for a decision on two questions: whether the party could use proceeds from the sale of the former South Charleston, W.Va., headquarters to either make lease payments on their new headquarters at 5 Greenbrier St, Charleston, W.Va., or whether the party could make payments on a land sales contract for the same property.

The Commission agreed to the second question, but could not come to a conclusion on the first question. From an FEC press release:

The Commission could not render an opinion on the first question posed in the advisory opinion request. (On the second question) The Commission concluded that in principle, a State party committee may do so…subject to State law, but in the absence of a specific contract or more details the Commission could not determine whether the prospective land sales contract would qualify as a purchase of the office building under the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act).

“There are six commissioners and they could not come to an agreement,” said Ingram. “You would need to have four affirmative votes to approve the advisory opinion in full. The situation goes back to where it was before the question was posed. Nothing changes and the Commission doesn’t do any more investigation, the Commission doesn’t send any other questions back. It becomes a suspended situation. It’s up to the committee to decide how it is going to handle things.”

The original headquarters was purchased with corporate donations in 2002. After the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill was passed, the monies from the sale of the South Charleston headquarters could only be used to purchase another building. The remaining $90,000 was place in CD until it’s proper use could be determined.

In order to be closer to the State Capitol Complex, the WVGOP entered into negotiations with William R. Currey to lease their current headquarters. The lease agreement was signed and went into effect on Sept. 1, 2009.

The current contract is $40,000 for two years, with all lease payments going towards the $750,000 value of the property.  The party spent $12,500 for the $2,500 deposit and the first four months of rent. A one-time payment of $500 was allegedly paid to Currey from the federal account to enter into the lease with an option to buy the property.

Party Chairman Doug McKinney submitted a letter to the FEC for an Advisory Opinion on Nov. 18, 2009 – nearly three months after using monies from the building fund CD – to find out if using the CD was acceptable. The party set aside $20,000 from the CD, which it used to make lease payments, leaving only $56,000 in the CD itself as of Jan. 14, 2010. According to conservative blog West Virginia Red, the WVGOP’s Financial Resource Allocation Committee voted on Jan. 13. to continue using the money from the CD to make lease payments.

Despite no ruling on the advisory opinion, the WVGOP have put themselves in a position – during an election year – where someone could file a complaint over the use of the building fund CD, opening up the party for FEC fines.

“If they go ahead and follow whatever course of action they had set out on and somebody files a complaint, that is the way it could come back to the Commission,” explained Ingram. “If they go ahead and do whatever they wanted to do, somebody cries foul, the Commission would look into…a real set of facts and not a hypothetical set of facts. Advisory Opinions, by their nature, are before the fact. Enforcement cases are after the fact.”

Read our previous stories:

BREAKING: FEC To Meet Next Week on WVGOP

FEC Releases Opinion Request from W.Va. GOP

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