COLLECTION FINDING AID



PRESIDENT FORD COMMITTEE RECORDS

GENERAL COUNSEL'S OFFICE FILES, 1975-77



CONTENTS

Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

President Ford Committee Records main page

INTRODUCTION

The General Counsel's Office Files are an important resource for examining the legal issues involved in the operation of a presidential campaign committee. In addition the collection extensively documents the development of the Federal Election Commission, its role in regulating campaign finances, and PFC receipts and expenditures. Smaller, but important, segments concern aspects of PFC operations beyond the work of the legal staff, including notes on some high-level meetings and weekly reports of the Political Office field coordinators.

The General Counsel was the legal adviser to the President Ford Committee. His office, consisting of two lawyers and their secretaries, played an extremely important role in the 1976 presidential campaign.

The major differences between the PFC General Counsel's role and the role of lawyers in previous presidential campaigns were caused by the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974. This legislation, signed into law by President Ford on October 15, 1974, established the first spending limits ever for candidates in presidential primary and general elections, provided for disclosure and reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, introduced public financing for general election campaigns and matching funds to cover part of the costs of primary campaigns, and created a Federal Election Commission (FEC) to develop specific regulations implementing the law and enforce its provisions.

Because of delays in the appointment and confirmation of FEC members, the Commission did not begin its work until just before initial efforts to organize the PFC began. This meant that the PFC, like several other 1976 campaign committees, had to begin the process of running a campaign while frequently asking the FEC for guidance on procedures or filing complaints about possible violations by other campaign committees. The PFC General Counsel and his assistant handled these interactions with the FEC, while also working on more traditional campaign committee attorney tasks such as lawsuits, delegate challenges, contracts with consulting firms and staff members, coordinating the work of the PFC state legal counsels, and ballot security.

During the early months of the Ford campaign, Washington lawyer Dean Burch and members of his law firm handled much of the legal work under contract, but in September 1975, when the work became full-time, the PFC hired attorney Robert P. Visser as General Counsel. After a short time he added Tim Ryan as his assistant. Unlike most PFC offices, there was no staff turnover during the campaign, so Visser and Ryan handled the PFC's legal work through election day and even into the early part of 1977.

The files of the General Counsel's Office comprise a key resource for studying the changes in campaigning for President deriving from the implementation of the new campaign laws. The files also contain extensive files on the development of the FEC and its rules and regulations, including case files on each FEC meeting (usually attended by Visser or Ryan whose handwritten notes on the meeting or memoranda to the record often appear in the file). The General Counsel's Office Files also include significant materials on the Supreme Court decision in January 1976 which invalidated portions of the Federal Election Campaign Act and the development of the 1976 amendments to that law.

Visser or Ryan usually attended meetings of the Committee's Executive Committee, Advisory Committee, and Convention Cordinating Group. Although their material on those meetings is not extensive, it often includes either handwritten or typed notes on the discussions or memoranda listing assignments made to various staff members.

Materials on various lawsuits, contracts and other legal work conducted by the office also appears.

Related Materials (as of June 1990):

The files of Philip Buchen, Counsel to the President, contain materials on a number of campaign-related legal questions, including the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 and 1976 and White House interactions with the Federal Election Commission concerning proposed rulings and regulations. The staff files of John Marsh, Edward Schmults, and Rogers Morton also contain related materials, especially on the 1976 campaign law amendments. The White House Central Files Subject File contains material in categories FG 387 (Federal Election Commission) and PL (Political Affairs).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

General Counsel's Office: Political File, 1975­77.  (Boxes D1‑D15, 6.0 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, strategy papers, agendas, schedule proposals, clippings, and printed material compiled by Callaway and his assistants, Mimi Austin and Judy Harbaugh. Prominent topics include early organizational efforts at the national and state level, liaison with White House staff, administrative and personnel matters, support for the President among members of Congress, and campaign finance. Included in several folders is material created by Bryce Harlow, an informal advisor to the President, during the period before the President formally announced his candidacy.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

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General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File, 1975­76. (Boxes D16‑D30, 5.8 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, reports, Congressional bills, notes, FEC advisory opinions, court briefs, congressional bills, press releases, and publications. The materials concern such topics as FEC reports submitted by the PFC and other campaign committees, the Supreme Court decision invalidating portions of the Federal Election Campaign Act and the passage of new amendments to that law, drafting FEC regulations, and complaints filed against various campaign committees.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

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General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File, 1975­76. (Boxes D30‑D35, 2.2 linear feet)
Case files on FEC meetings containing memoranda, correspondence, reports, agendas, minutes, and notes. The materials concern such topics as FEC organization and operation, drafting of regulations, and issuance of advisory opinions. Although some earlier material appears, the meetings best documented fall in the periods from September 1975 to February 1976 and late May to September 1976. The Supreme Court decision invalidating portions of the Federal Election Campaign Act left the Commission powerless to act during March, April, and part of May 1976.

Arranged chronologically by the meeting date.

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General Counsel's Office: General Subject File, 1975­76.  (Boxes D36‑D40, 2.0 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, congressional bills, reports, legal briefs, and publications concerning court cases, legislation and actions of federal agencies. Topics include lawsuits by minor parties and independent candidates desiring to be included in the 1976 campaign debates, attempts to revise the Federal Communication Commission's "Equal Time Doctrine," Hatch Act reform legislation, the activities of a advisory group of lawyers who studied delegate selection procedures for the PFC, and the work of the PFC's state legal counsels.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

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General Counsel's Office: State Legal File, 1975­76.  (Boxes D40‑D45, 2.0 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, affidavits, notes, rules, committee reports, resolutions, by­laws, agendas, lists of nominees and delegates, vote tabulations, programs, ballot instructions, proof ballots, contracts, invoices, checks, and certificates. The materials document exchanges between the General Counsel's Office and state PFC legal counsels, other state PFC officers, local Republicans, federal and state agencies, and private law firms. The series relates primarily to interpretation of and compliance with federal and state campaign laws and Republican Party rules in the operations and procedures of local PFC offices, party precinct caucuses, and state conventions. Contents of some folders are routine, while challenges and disputes in other states yield substantial and interesting material. The Ford Library did not receive any folders for California or Virginia.

Arranged alphabetically by state.

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General Counsel's Office: Administrative Subject File, 1975­76.  (Boxes D46‑D48, 1.2 linear feet)
Routine memoranda, correspondence, leases, and resumes concerning such PFC administrative matters as budget and fiscal control, federal wage and hour laws, headquarters security, office rental, state bank accounts and possible candidates for employment.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

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General Counsel's Office: State Receipt File, 1975­76.  (Boxes D49‑D51, 1.2 linear feet)
Routine cover memoranda from the General Counsel's Office to state Secretaries of State. The memoranda originally enclosed copies of amendments to Federal Election Commission registration forms, statements of organization, and reports of receipts and expenditures. The recipients removed these attachments, annotated the memoranda to indicate the material had been received, and returned them to the PFC as receipts.

Arranged alphabetically by state.

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CONTAINER LIST

Box D1 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D2 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D3 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D4 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D5 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D6 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D7 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D8 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D9 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D10 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D11 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D12 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D13 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D14 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D15 - General Counsel's Office: Political File

Box D16 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D17 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D18 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D19 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D20 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D21 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D22 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D23 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D24 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D25 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D26 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D27 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D28 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D29 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D30 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D31 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D32 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D33 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D34 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D35 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Subject File

Box D36 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File

Box D37 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File

Box D38 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File

Box D39 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File

Box D40 - General Counsel's Office: Federal Election Commission Meetings File

Box D41 - General Counsel's Office: State Legal File

Box D42 - General Counsel's Office: State Legal File

Box D43 - General Counsel's Office: State Legal File

Box D44 - General Counsel's Office: State Legal File

Box D45 - General Counsel's Office: State Legal File

Box D46 - General Counsel's Office: Administrative Subject File

Box D47 - General Counsel's Office: Administrative Subject File

Box D48 - General Counsel's Office: Administrative Subject File

Box D49 - General Counsel's Office: State Receipt File

Box D50 - General Counsel's Office: State Receipt File

Box D51 - General Counsel's Office: State Receipt File