February 9, 1996 Lawrence M. Noble, Esq. General Counsel
February 9, 1996 Lawrence M. Noble, Esq. General Counsel Federal Election Commission 999 E Street, N.W. - - . 1- Washington, D.C. 20463 p> 3 .7 , ~,;S,Z.n .E:>:-' I .E:>:-' r,j _c>iSr-"-.1__ m RE: Complaint Aqainst Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes, Jr. C,?, - I I . , . ., .- *: and Forbes, Inc. -- .,..- -,!T 'I > , I .li ;.? __-I Dear Mr. Noble: 7---- ', .. rx LII) Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes, Jr. , and Forbes, Inc. have violateEt7 and continue to violate several provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act ("the Act"), and the regulations thereunder, by pub- lishing editorials in Forbes Magazine and in fourteen New Jersey newspapers that promote Mr. Forbes' candidacy for federal office. Mr. Forbes declared his candidacy for the Republican nomi- nation for President of the United States on September 22, 1995. Mr. Forbes is also the editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, a bi- monthly business magazine published by Forbes, Inc. with a national and international circulation of more than 110,000 readers. Forbes, Inc. is a privately held company controlled by Mr. Forbes. Mr. Forbes has exercised his direct and indirect control over Forbes Magazine to author and publish editorials on a regular basis that advance his candidacy for federal office. As the enclosed editorials demonstrate, Mr. Forbes has used and continues to use Forbes Magazine editorials, at no cost to his campaign committee, to test the waters of public opinion for his political ideas, to communicate information about himself and his political beliefs to thousands of potential voters, and to promote the central themes of his presidential campaign.
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