FEC deadlocked over '04 presidential ads

Democratic members of the Federal Election Commission say the Republican Party in 2004 improperly paid more than $40 million in ads that benefited President Bush's campaign.

But three Republican commissioners maintain neither the party nor the Bush campaign violated the law. The deadlock has left the issue unresolved and is likely to lead to new rules specifying how campaigns and parties can share ad costs.

The split on the commission came to light Thursday when the commissioners voted to accept an audit of the Bush-Cheney '04 general election finances.

At issue is a decision by the Bush campaign and the Republican National Committee to split the $81 million cost of a series of ads that ran during the 2004 general election campaign. The ads mentioned Bush or his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry. They also made reference to Democrats, Republicans "our leaders in Congress" or "liberals in Congress."

Commission Chairman Robert Lenhard and fellow commission Democrats Ellen Weintraub and Steven Walther argued in a joint statement Thursday that the ads mainly benefited Bush and spent little time advocating for other Republican Party candidates.

Republican commissioners agreed with arguments from Bush campaign lawyers that the ad split was similar to FEC-approved cost-sharing for phone banks and get-out-the-vote efforts.