James Madison Center Opposes Intervention by Members of Congress in
Suit against Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

The James Madison Center for Free Speech, on behalf of a coalition of 16 plaintiffs, filed today an opposition to the proposed intervention of Sen. McCain, Sen. Feingold, and other members of Congress in the lawsuit against the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act ("BCRA"). "It is not enough that Sen. McCain and other members of Congress want the federal government to impose criminal penalties on average Americans for just talking about politicians, but now they want to go after citizens groups that oppose the law themselves with their own platoons of high-priced lawyers," says Plaintiffs' counsel James Bopp, Jr., who is General Counsel for the James Madison Center. In addition to other restrictions, BCRA makes it a federal offense for a lobby group or labor union to mention the name of an incumbent member of Congress, seeking reelection, in any broadcast ad for 90 days during an election year. In addition, it would be a federal crime to mention the name of a Presidential candidate during a presidential election year for approximately 260 days. The intervention, if successful, would burden the plaintiff citizens and citizen groups with more of everything in the litigation -- time, motions, briefs, interrogatories, depositions, document production, depositions, and consequent expense. In addition, McCain's lawyer could directly attack the citizens groups mounting the challenge to BCRA by serving them with subpoenas, demanding documents and making them answer questions under oath. "Such actions by McCain would only serve to punish the citizens groups who are bravely standing up to defend the First Amendment rights of everyone from this audacious assault by incumbent politician on the right of citizens to talk about what politicians are doing to us and for us in office," Bopp said. "These sponsors assured everyone there was 'no problem' with the Act's constitutionality. If that's true, why isn't it enough that the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Communications Communication, and maybe the Justice Department is defending this bill using taxpayer money? Why do they need expensive lawyers financed by multi-million dollar grants from the wealthiest individuals and foundations in our country?" Bopp adds. Bopp notes recent news reports that lawyer Trevor Potter, attorney for McCain and the other intervening members of Congress, is being financed by a multi-million dollar donation from the Pew Charitable Trust. He adds, "The campaign finance 'reform' movement has long been funded by rich individuals who benefit from restrictions on citizen groups that average Americans must form to promote their issues, like the environment, abortion rights, and gun control. The rich don't need to pool their money to be heard. They already have all they the money the need!" Unlike the multi-million dollar donations that wealthy backers of the BCRA are providing, most citizen groups must mount a defense with the small contributions they receive from ordinary citizens. "The present defense of the free expression and association rights of average Americans is costly enough without McCain and his allies piling on," says Bopp. The court is being asked in the alternative to limit the participation of McCain and his allies if intervention is granted, in order to keep their participation from driving up costs and making the case too unwieldy. A copy of the opposition memorandum is posted on the James Madison Center for Free Speech web site at www.jamesmadisoncenter.org. The mission of the James Madison Center is to support litigation and public education activities in order to defend the rights of political expression and association by citizens and citizen groups as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.