Watchdog files lawsuit against group backing Iowa Sen. Ernst

https://apnews.com/article/campaign-finance-iowa-lawsuits-washington-elections-d0a5634b41087062e [login to see] 4c213
An election watchdog group has filed a federal lawsuit that claims an Iowa-based nonprofit organization violated election laws by failing to register as a political committee that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s reelection.

Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonprofit campaign finance watchdog group, filed the lawsuit Friday in Washington. It had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in December 2019 afte r The Associated Press reported Ernst’s work with Iowa Values to raise money and build an electoral “firewall” potentially violated campaign finance and tax law.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to declare that Iowa Values became a political committee as of June 2019 and order the group to register, file documents and provide information on fundraising and expenditures.