ADL files formal complaint against JVP, claims violations of federal campaign finance laws

The Anti-Defamation League announced on Monday that it had filed a federal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voices for Peace, accusing the group of violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations.

“The complaint against JVP Action PAC (JVP PAC) and its treasurer cites numerous financial discrepancies in the political action committee’s income and expense reports, and charges it with illegally accepting prohibited corporate contributions and donations in excess of federal limits,” the ADL stated.

“Simply put, JVP PAC’s numbers do not add up, and despite repeated warnings from the FEC, the PAC has failed to correct the record,” said Steven C. Sheinberg, ADL Chief Legal Officer. “Moreover, while JVP PAC holds itself out to the public as a mechanism for supporting candidates for federal elected office, a significant majority of the PAC’s spending did not go to candidates or have any apparent direct connection to a federal campaign. The public deserves to know where this money is going, and the FEC must hold JVP PAC accountable for violations of the law.”

The ADL charged that despite being registered with the FEC as a “nonconnected” committee, JVP PAC describes itself as the “electoral wing” of JVP Action, which itself is the affiliate of JVP.

JVP’s finances, according to the ADL

While JVP PAC reported $82,956 in expenditures for 2020 until 2023, only $1,775, or a little over 2%, was contributed to federal candidates for office, the ADL claimed. However, a significant amount of funds was reportedly dedicated to payment for legal services to an insurance firm that “doesn’t appear to practice law.”

The ADL further claimed that The PAC’s financial filings show a “pattern of noncompliance.” This “pattern” reportedly led to the FEC issuing requests for further information on four different occasions in 2022 and 2023. However, the anti-Zionist group has allegedly failed to respond to all four requests.

“The PAC’s reports show a number of financial discrepancies, discrepancies in cash on hand from report to report, and other reporting errors,” the complaint stated.

The complainants further accused the group of accepting financial contributions over federal limits.

“The whole complaint demonstrates, in our view, pattern and practice of misbehavior that we should take very seriously,” ADL chief legal officer Steven Sheinberg, who filed the action, told The Algemeiner on Monday. “Taken together, together with the fact that they don’t spend money on candidates, it is very damning.”