Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) all but raised a middle finger to the Federal Election Commission when responding to an inquiry about her new political action committee’s name.
The dispute is over a seemingly simple question: What does “MTG” mean?
The FEC contends that MTG is a name, and therefore, can’t legally include it in her new PAC’s title.
Greene’s team says “MTG” is not a name.
Greene’s “leadership PAC” — created in February for raising money to support other federal officeholders and political causes — is called “MTG for Georgia Leadership Committee.”
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By law, leadership PACs are not allowed to use the politician’s name to prevent people from confusing it with a personal campaign committee. The FEC flagged it for a possible violation earlier this month.
In an unsigned response to the FEC, Greene’s PAC said, “We are not aware of any federal candidate named ‘MTG.’ Moreover, it appears that the Commission has a dubious record enforcing the prohibition on using candidate names in the names of leadership PACs.”
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The response cited current and former PACs such as Jerry’s Political Action Committee, for Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and Vicky PAC, for former Republican Representative Vicky Hartzler of Missouri.
But while there are a lot of Jerrys and Vickys, there’s only one federal-level politician known publicly as MTG.
The most common Google search returns for the acronym “MTG” are Greene and the card game “Magic: The Gathering.”
FEC spokesperson Judith Ingram declined comment when contacted by Raw Story.
In December, Greene agreed to pay a $12,000 fine for what the FEC contended was illegal fundraising on behalf of a since-closed PAC called Stop Socialism Now.
This time, Greene’s response to the FEC maintained a defiant tone to the end.
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“Any attempt by the Commission to prohibit the Committee from using its chosen name would fail a constitutional challenge … and the Commission's haphazard application of the regulations would be held arbitrary and capricious,” the MTG for Georgia Leadership Committee wrote.
“In light of the foregoing, it is evident that the (FEC letter) was sent in error, and accordingly, the Committee will not amend its name.”
