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FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSIONWASHINGTON, D.C. 20463

ADVANCE COPY BY FACSIMILEFriends of Joe Lieberman et alc/o Brian G. Svoboda, Esq.Perkins Coie607 Fourteenth Street N.W .Washington, DC 20005-2011

March 17,2009

RE: MURS862Friends of Joe Liebeiman andLynn Fusco, in her officialcapacity as treasurer

Dear Mr. Svoboda:On February 25, 2009, the Federal Election Commission accepted the signedconciliation agreement and civil penalty subm itted on your client's behalf in settlement ofviolations of 2 U.S.C. 43200(1) and (2) and 434(b), provisions of the Federal ElectionCampaign Act of 1971,as amended. Accordingly, the file has been closed in this matter.Docum ents related to the case will be placed on the public record within 30 days.

See Statement of Policy Regarding Disclosure of Closed Enforcement and Related Files,68 Fed. Reg. 70,426 (Dec.18, 2003). A copy of the agreement is enclosed for yourinformation.Enclosed you w ill find a copy of the fully executed conciliation agreem ent foryour files. Please note that the civil penalty and the appropriate amendm ents are duewithin 30 days of the conciliation agreement's effective date. If you have any questions,please contact me at (202) 694-1372.

Sincerely,

RoyQ.LuckettAttorneyEnclosureConciliation Agreem ent

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:M.!;,L:.3;iBEFORE T H E FEDE RA L ELECTION COMMISSION -' J C c ^.MJ( * J . . r j ! . LI n Ih e Mailer of ) 2001 FES-b P Friends or Joe Liebcrman and ) MUR 5862L y n n Fusco, in her o f f i c i a l capacity as treasurer )

CONCILIATION AGREEMENTThis m atter was initiated by a signed, sworn, and notarized comp laint by Thomas Sw an.

The Federal Election Commission ("Commission'*) found reason to believe Friends of JoeLicbcmiun and Lynn Fusco, in her o f f i c i a l capacity as treasurer ("Respondents"), violated2 U.S.C. $ 43 2(h )(l) and (2) and 434(b).

NOW THEREFORE, the Commission and Respondents, hav ing participated in informalmethods of conciliation, prior to a finding of probable cause to believe, do hereby agree asfollows:

I . The Comm ission has jurisdiction over the Respondents and the sub ject matter of thisproceeding, and th is agreement has the effect of an agreement entered pursuant to 2 U.S.C.437g(a)(4)(A)(i).

I I . Respondents have h ad a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that no action shouldbe taken in this m atter.

I I I . Respondents enter voluntarily into this agreement w ith the Comm ission.IV. The pertinent facts in this m atter are as follows:

1. Friends of Joe Lieberman ("Committee**) is a political comm ittee within themeaning of 2 U.S.C. 431 (4), and is the authorized campaign committee of Senator Joseph Lieberman.

2. Lynn Fusco is the treasurer of the Committee.

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Conciliation AgreementM U R S862 (Friends of Joe Liebcrman)Page 2 ol'73. The Federal E lection Cam paign Act of 1971, as amended (the "Act"), provides that

a political committee shall not make a disbursement (other than petty cash disbursementspursuant to section 432(h)(2)) in any form other than by check draw n on the committee's accountat its design ated cam paig n depository. 2 U.S.C. 432 (h)(l). Un der the exception in 2 U.S.C. 432(h)(2), a political committee m ay maintain a petty cash fund for disbursements not inexcess of $ 100 to any person in connection with a single purchase or transaction. The treasurermu st keep a record of all petty cash disbursements, which shall include the name an d address ofevery person to whom any disbursement is made, and the date, am ount, and purpose of suchdisbursement. See also 2 U.S.C. 432(c)(5).

4. The Act requires that an authorized comm ittee of a candidate disclose for thereporting period and the election cycle the nam e and address of each person to wh om it has m adean expenditure in an aggregate amount or value in excess of $200 within the calendar year tomeet a com m ittee or candidate operating expense, together w ith the date, am ount and purpose ofsuch operatin g expenditure, and keep records, including receipts, invoices, or cancelled checks,for each disbursement over $200. 2 U.S.C. 434(bX5XA). See also 2 U.S.C. 432(cXS).

5. Authorized committees are required to disclose the total of all disbursements forthe reporting period and the election cycle, includin g expenditures m ade to m eet candidate orcomm ittee op erating expenses. 2 U.S.C. 434(b)(4)(A).

6. The Com mittee's 2006 O ctober Quarterly Report disclosed ten petty cashdisbursements totaling $384,061 that w ere described as stipend volunteer payments, and threepetty cash disbursements totaling $3,500 described as expenses for gas, water, food and

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ConciliationAgreementMUR 5862 (Friends of Joe Lieberman)Page 3 of7beverages. The Committee's 2006 Pre-Primary Report disclosed one add itional cashdisbursement in the amount of $2,500 without describing its purpose.

7. The mon ies characterized as stipend volunteer paym ents were paid to canvassersf o r get-oul-the-votc ("GOTV") activity in connection with Connecticut's 2006 prim ary electionf o r the U.S. Senate. In making the payments, the Comm ittee w ithdrew very large amoun ts ofcash f r o m its bank account on 14 separate occasions and gave the money to campaign consultants

volunteers who put cash in envelopes that were d isbursed to canvassers, frequently inamounts w ell in excess of $ 100.

8. In all, the Committee ultimately made cash pay ments to 1,003 canvassers tota ling5344,496, not $384,061, as reported in the 2006 October Quarterly Report. Of the $344,496 paidto canvassers, the C omm ittee m ade at least 600 paym ents, totaling $121,965, w hich exceeded thepetty cash limit of $ 100 per person in connection with a single transaction. The Com mittee paid534 canvassers am ounts that exceeded $200 in the aggregate, ranging f r o m $240 to $1,350,cumulatively totaling $292,430. The Comm ittee did not itemize these paym ents in its disclosurereports, or keep all the required records documenting them. The Committee also reported$30,000 in disbursements to canvassers that were never made; the Comm ittee withdrew $75,000on Aug ust 7,2006 and returned $30,000 to its bank account the n ext day, but did not disclose theamount returned in its initial 2006 O ctober Q uarterly Report. On June 13,2008, the Committeeamended its 2006 Qu arterly Report to reflect the $30,000 deposit.

9. One of the Comm ittee's campaign consultants was responsible for recording andtracking the payments made to the canvassers. She created an Excel spreadsheet ("spreadsheet")showing monies owed to canvassers on a daily basis from July 22,2006 through August 8,2006.

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Conciliation AgreementMUR 5862 (Friends of Joe Lieberman)Page 4 of7The spreadsheet did not, however, represent a complete accounting of cash disbursements for thecanvassing period, or accura tely record in many instances the dates that canvassers w ere actuallypaid. Moreover, some disbursem ents to canvassers were not reflected on the spreadsheet bu tappeared only on other documents. Some of these other documen ts show pay me nts tocanvassers, but do not includ e the dates of the disbursements, an d some also show canvassers ashaving been paid in am ounts greater tha n those for the same canvassers recorded on thespreadsheet. There are nume rous instances wh ere the spreadsheet and other docum ents recordmultiple payments to particular canvassers in differing amounts on the same date, usu allyaggregating in excess of SI 00. There is also a list that contains only canvassers' f i r s t names,making it impossible to definitively confirm their identities.

10. Based on all the docum entation, canvassers first started perform ing services forthe campaign on July 21,2006, not July 22,2006 as shown on the spreadsheet, and they were notalways paid on a daily basis. The f i r s t cash paym ents to canvassers occurred on July 27,2006.not July 26.2006. as reported in the 2006 October Qu arterly Report. The Committee has beenunable to account for $9,565 in cash that was withdrawn during the canvassing period.

1 1 . In addition to the cash paym ents to canvassers, the Committee made cashdisbursem ents to others that exceeded $100 per transaction. In its 2006 October QuarterlyReport, the Comm ittee reported a $500 p etty cash disbursem ent on Ju ly 25,2006 for "gas ca rdswater,*' a $2,500 petty cash disbursement on July 26,2006 for "gas/water," and a $500 petty cashdisbursement on July 29,2006 for "food & beverage." The Committee's 2006 Pre-PrimaryReport disclosed an additional $2,500 petty cash disbursement on July 19,2006 that contains noinformation on the "Purpose of Disbursement'1 line. The Committee's records show that the

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Conciliation AgreementM U R 5862 (Friends of Joe Liebcrman)Page 5 ol'7$500 cash disbursement on July 25,2006 went to two individuals in the amount of $250 each,the $2,500 cash disburseme nton July 26,2006 w ent to a single ind ividua l, and the $2,500 cashdisbursement on July 19,2006 w as made in seven payments to four individuals; the sevenpayments ranged f r o m $270 to $500. All of these payments should have been ma de by check anditemized, but w ere not. The Committee w as unable to provide an y records identifying the

recipients) of the reported $500 petty cash disbursem ent on July 25 , 2006 for "gas cards w ater/*12. The C om m ittee's 2006 October Q uarterly Report also disclosed d up licate

pay me nts to two consultants in the amounts pf $8,500 and $ 12,200, respectively.13. The Commission has no information and has made no find ing that Senator Joseph

Lieberman engaged in any wrongdoing in connection w ith the alleged camp aign violations, northat the petty cash disbursements at issue in this m atter violated an y statutes other tha n 2 U.S.C. 432 (h) and 434(b) as described in this agreement.

V. 1. Respondents failed to disclose the f u l l names and addresses of recipients ofdisbursements aggregating in excess of $200 during 2006, together w ith the dates, am ounts, an dpurposes of such disbursements, and to keep f u l l an d accurate records of such disbursements;misreportcd paym ents to tw o consultants; and m isreported a $75,000 disbursement, in violationof 2 U.S.C. 434(b).

2. Respondents disbursed cash to recipients in excess of $ 100 in connection with asingle transaction, in violation of 2 U.S.C. 432 (hX l).

3. Respondents failed to keep an account of its cash pay me nts to recipients thataccurately recorded the date, am ount, and purpose of each such cash disbursement, in violationof2U.S.C.432(hX2).

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ConciliationAgreementMl 'R 5862 (Friends of Joe Liebcrmun)Page 6 of 7

VI. Respondents w i I I take the following actions:1. Respondents will pay a civil penalty to the Federal Election Commission in the

amount of F i f t y Thousand dollars ($50,000), pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(S)(A).2. Respondents will cease and desist f r o m violating 2 U.S.C.

432(hX 1) and (2) and 434(b).Respondents will amend its 2006 October Quarterly and Pre-Prim ary R eports, and

to the extent appropriate, any subsequent reports on f i l e with the Commission to correct theerrors set f o r t h in the Commission's findings in this agreement.VII. The Commission, on request of anyone f i l i n g a complaint under 2 U.S.C. 437g(a)(l) concerning the matters at issue herein or on its ow n motion, may review compliancewith this agreement. If the Comm ission believes that this agreement or any requirement thereofhas been violated, it may institute a civil action for relief in the United States District Court forthe District of Columbia.

V I I I . This agreement shall become effective as of the date that all parties hereto haveexecuted same and the Comm ission has approved the entire agreement.

IX. Respondents shall have no more than 30 days from the date this agreement becomeseffective to comply w ith and implement the requirem ents contained in this agreement and to son o t i f y the Commission.

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Conciliation AgreementMl'R 5862 (Friends of Joe I.ieberman)Page 7 of 7

X. Th is Conciliation Agreem ent constitutes the entire agreement between the parties on(he m atters raised h erein, and no other statemen t, promise, or agreement, either w ritten or oral,made by cither party or by agents of either party, that is not contained in this w ritten agreementshall be enforceable.

FO R THE COMMISSION:Thomasenia P. DuncanGeneral Counsel

BY: Ann Marie TerzakenAssociate General Counselfor EnforcementDate

FOR THE RESPONDENTS:

Date