Donald F. McGahn II has put together an unlikely resume.
A long-time defender of politicians accused of election law violations, he’s now the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, the group charged with enforcing election laws.
In addition, on weekends, he’s the lead guitarist for Scott’s New Band, a group that describes itself as a “guitar-driven top 40/modern rock band from Washington, D.C.”
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal looked at McGahn’s dual life, even supplying an online video of the commissioner rocking on.
McGahn joined the commission in June of this year, filling the remainder of a six-year term that expires at the end of April 2009.
His nomination by President Bush was controversial, with critics suggesting that he was too much of a partisan to serve on the ostensibly non-partisan body. (By law the group has three Republican and three Democratic members. The chairmanship rotates each year.)
McGahn had been the chief finance lawyer for the Americans for a Republican Majority political action committee (ARMPAC). The group was created in 1997 by then Rep. Thomas D. DeLay. It shut down in 2007.
After an investigation that began in 2005, the FEC charged ARMPAC with election law violations. In July 2006, ARMPAC agreed to pay a $115,000 fine in the case.
McGahn also represented DeLay in other election law and ethical matters, some related to DeLay’s association with Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist now serving time on fraud charges.
In addition to his work for DeLay and other Republican politicians, McGahn served for several years, beginning in 1999, as the general counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Writing in Roll Call this May, Meredith McGehee, the policy director of the Campaign Legal Center, warned her readers not to “expect tough and fair enforcement ” from McGahn given his deep Republican roots.
However, the Journal reports that McGehee has been “pleasantly surprised” by McGahn’s service on the FEC, as he has crossed party lines in some cases.
Nonetheless, campaign reform advocates continue to argue that the FEC is something of a “toothless tiger” that has better luck chasing down underfinanced political newcomers than nabbing the well-heeled political veterans.
A proposal now before Congress would replace the FEC with a Federal Election Administration. It would have three board members, the chairman appointed by the president to a 10-year term. The other two commissioners would be from different parties.
Sen. John McCain, the Republican candidate for president, introduced the bill in the Senate, along with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
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