United States v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 701, and Russell E. Joy

BROWNING, Circuit Judge:

Appellants were indicted for violating the Federal Election Campaign Act, 2 U.S.C. §§ 431-456 (1976) 1 11. The district court dismissed the indictment on the ground that the Attorney General had failed to exhaust the administrative remedy before the Federal Election Commission (FEC), available under section 437g of the Act, before seeking an indictment. We conclude Congress did not intend to impose this limitation upon the power of the Attorney General to enforce the law. We therefore reverse.

The administrative remedy was added to the statute by amendments adopted in…