The FEC action came as Soros criticized John Kerry. "Kerry did not, actually, offer a credible and coherent alternative. That had a lot to do with Bush being re-elected." Soros said on Saturday in an interview with the Bloomberg wire service at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Kerry campaign "tried to emphasize his role as a Vietnam War hero and downplay his role as an anti-Vietnam War hero, which he was. Had he admitted, owned up to it, I think actually the outcome could have been different," said Soros.

During October, Soros undertook a media and speaking tour to swing states during which he called for Kerry's election and the defeat of President Bush. His appearances coincided with two-page newspaper ads and mass mailings to voters with the same theme. Soros apparently failed to report significant expenditures related to these efforts, as required.

Also named as Respondents in the Complaint are Fenton Communications, which assisted with the campaign, and two nonprofit organizations that hosted Soros speeches: The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Club of Columbus, Ohio.

Boehm commented, "We expect a complete, fair and independent investigation of our Complaint."

During the tour, Soros was confronted by the "Soros Truth Squad," organized by NLPC, which had a presence at Soros speeches in five cities.

NLPC has a track record of success before the FEC. On March 26, 2004, the FEC fined two leadership PACs associated with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a total of $21,000 in response to an NLPC Complaint. On Jan. 13, 2004, the FEC ruled in response to another NLPC Complaint that Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., illegally failed to disclose large loans to her campaign just prior to her 2000 Senate election.

An FEC Complaint filed by NLPC on April 18, 2003 resulted in a Conciliation Agreement under which Al Sharpton had to pay a $5,500 fine for late filing of disclosure documents. Another Complaint, filed on Feb. 2, 2004 and extensively amended on Feb. 5, 2004, asked the FEC to deny Sharpton taxpayer matching funds.

On May 13, 2004, the FEC ruled that Sharpton must return $100,000 that he has received in federal matching funds. This followed the FEC's April 29, 2004 ruling that payment on an additional $79,709, for which Sharpton had purportedly qualified, would not be made.

Editor's note: