The American Democracy Legal Fund has filed a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate whether Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) violated Senate rules by using official resources for campaign purposes.
Sen. Johnson violated the Senate’s prohibition on the use of official resources for campaign or political purposes when he and his campaign created a website to highlight work he has done and positions he has taken while in the Senate. One of the videos on Sen. Johnson’s campaign website uses C-Span footage of the senator at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, and contains multiple shots of Sen. Johnson speaking at the hearing. The final scene of the video states that it was “Paid for by Ron Johnson for Senate, Inc.” The use of official spaces to achieve this outcome is in direct violation of Senate ethics rules.
The complaint is available below and in full with exhibits here. The American Democracy Legal Fund holds candidates for office accountable for possible ethics and/or legal violations. It was established by David Brock and is run by Brad Woodhouse.
February 18, 2016
Deborah Sue Mayer
Chief Counsel and Staff Director
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics
220 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Request for Investigation into Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Dear Ms. Mayer:
American Democracy Legal Fund (“ADLF”) respectfully requests that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics (the “Committee”) investigate whether Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) violated Senate rules by using official resources for campaign purposes.
Sen. Johnson is a candidate for reelection in the 2016 Senate race. As part of his reelection effort, the senator and his campaign have created a website to highlight work he has done and positions he has taken while in the Senate.[1] One of the videos on Sen. Johnson’s campaign website uses C-Span footage of the senator at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing,[2] and contains multiple shots of Sen. Johnson speaking at the hearing.[3] The final scene of the video states that it was “Paid for by Ron Johnson for Senate, Inc.”
This video was also uploaded to the Senator’s campaign YouTube channel alongside other videos highlighting his Senate work and attacking his potential general election opponent Russ Feingold.[4] In addition to hosting such videos, the home page also links to his main campaign website, which contains a “donate” button on the site’s front page.[5]
The Standing Orders of the Senate prohibit Sen. Johnson from using footage of Senate proceedings for political campaign purposes. The Standing Orders state that “[t]he use of any tape duplication of radio or television coverage of the proceedings of the Senate for political campaign purposes is strictly prohibited.”[6] Senate ethics rules prohibit Sen. Johnson from using official resources to support his Senate reelection campaign. The Senate Ethics Manual states that “[i]t is . . . inappropriate to use any official resources to conduct campaign or political activities.”[7] More specifically, the manual says that “Senate space . . . and resources generally should not be used to assist campaign organizations.”[8] Using footage of a Senate hearing for campaign or political purposes is thus prohibited under the Standing Orders of the Senate and the Senate ethics rules.
Sen. Johnson has violated the Standing Orders’ prohibition on the use of Senate proceeding footage for political campaign purposes. The Senator used C-Span footage of a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in a video that was posted on both his campaign website and YouTube channel. The video that was created from the recording of the proceeding was paid for by Sen. Johnson’s campaign committee, Ron Johnson for Senate, Inc. More than half of the minute-long video is comprised of footage of the hearing. Such extensive use of the committee hearing in his campaign video is a flagrant violation of the Senate’s prohibition against the use of proceeding footage for political campaign purposes.
Posting the video on Sen. Johnson’s campaign YouTube channel is also a violation of the prohibition on the use of proceeding footage for political campaign purposes. Uploading the video to his campaign channel highlights the Senator’s intent to use the video for campaign purposes—to drive traffic to his campaign’s YouTube channel and website. Once a viewer is on the channel, there are a number of other campaign videos that highlight the Senator’s positions and attack Mr. Feingold, his potential Democratic opponent. The YouTube channel also links to Sen. Johnson’s campaign website, which contains a prominent “donate” button on the front page. Taken together, Sen. Johnson’s campaign video is a way for him to direct viewers to learn more about and support his campaign—the ultimate purpose for recording and uploading the video. Using footage from a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to achieve this outcome is in direct violation of the Senate’s Standing Orders.
On the same facts as above, Sen. Johnson also violated the Senate’s prohibition on the use of official resources for campaign or political purposes.
The Standing Orders of the Senate bar members from using any recording of a Senate proceeding for political campaign purposes and Senate rules prohibit the use of official resources like footage of a committee hearing for campaign purposes. For the above stated reasons, we request that the Committee commence an immediate investigation into Sen. Johnson’s conduct.
Sincerely,
Enclosures
[1] See Ron Johnson for Senate, RonJohnsonforSenate.com, http://www.ronjohnsonforsenate.com (last visited Feb. 15, 2016); Ron Johnson, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/Ron4Senate/videos (last visited Feb. 15, 2016).
[2] Ron Johnson for Senate, Ron Works with Local Officials to Keep Our Country Safe, RonJohnsonforSenate.com (Feb. 4, 2016, 3:41 PM), http://www.ronjohnsonforsenate.com/blog/ron-works-with-local-officials-to-keep-our-country-safe?utm_content=27613330&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.
[3] Id. at :10-:30, :34-53.
[4] Ron Johnson, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/Ron4Senate/videos (last visited Feb. 15, 2016).
[5] Ron Johnson for Senate, RonJohnsonforSenate.com, http://www.ronjohnsonforsenate.com (last visited Feb. 15, 2016).
[6] 113th Congress, Standing Orders of the Senate § (69)(6)(a).
[7] Senate Ethics Manual 153.
[8] Id. at 150.