The Media Fund is a

527 group A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defea ...

, active in U.S. politics, which supported

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

's campaign for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. It was formed in 2002, and is led by Harold M. Ickes, a former aide to President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. Its chief fundraiser is

Ellen Malcolm Ellen R. Malcolm (born February 2, 1947) is an American activist with a long career in American politics, particularly in political fundraising. She founded EMILY's List in 1985 and served as its president until 2010. Early life Malcolm's ...

, a former fundraiser for

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

. Billionaire

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

was among the largest donors to the Fund. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the Media Fund raised $45 million to run

issue ad Issue advocacy ads (also known as interest advocacy ads or issue only ads) are communications intended to bring awareness to a certain problem. Groups that sponsor this form of communication are known by several names including: interest advocac ...

s in key

swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...

s. The Media Fund is one of several 527 groups which supported Kerry; others include

America Coming Together America Coming Together (ACT) (founded in 2003) was a progressive, political action 527 group dedicated to get-out-the-vote activities. ACT did not specifically endorse any political party but worked almost exclusively on behalf of Democratic ...

and

MoveOn.org MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...

. After the election, the group experienced a dramatic drop in fundraising success; media reports speculated that major donors had given up on the organization, and were turning their attention to other, more long-term Democratic projects.

Legal issues

Following the campaign of John Kerry, the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

unanimously voted to levy a $580,000 fine against the Fund. The penalty was the seventh largest in FEC history. The FEC determined that more than 90 percent of the $60 million raised by the Media Fund came from labor unions, corporations or from donors who gave more $5,000 — all contributions barred by federal election rules. Lyn Utrecht represented the Media Fund in the settlement. Erik Smith, president of the Media Fund, would later issue a statement pointing out that the FEC settlement did not find his group in violation of the law. The FEC had already fined a number of the other major 527s for illegal spending during the 2004 elections, including the Democratic-leaning groups MoveOn.org and the George Soros-backed America Coming Together, as well as the Republican-supporting groups Progress for America Voter Fund and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Legal issues

Further reading