Democrats this week have called for a federal investigation into whether John McCain violated federal election laws by pulling out from public financing for his primary campaign. The Democrats have prepared a lawsuit that is expected to be filed Monday morning with the U.S. District Court that brings into question the Federal Election Commission’s ability to enforce the rules and properly question McCain’s decision to withdraw from public financing.

For the national campaign, McCain has agreed to accept public funds, and the spending limits that come with it. Barack Obama initially agreed he would as well, and not surprisingly has changed his opinion on the topic, now saying he is unsure if he will accept public financing.The public financing, funded by the little check box on your tax return asking if you would like to donate $3 to the presidential election fund, would grant each candidate $84 million to spend on their national campaigns. John McCain has already committed to accepting the funds, and spending limits that come with them. However, although vowing to accepting public funding if the Republican nominee did, Barack Obama is now unsure if he will take them.

Obama has pulled in nearly $240 million since the start of his campaign, which makes John McCain’s roughly $75 million pale in comparison. Its no surprise Obama is leery of accepting the $84 million of public financing, and the spending limit that comes with it, as he intends to literally crush McCain with his wallet during the general election competitions, assuming they are the respective nominees.

McCain has slammed Obama for changing his stance on his acceptance of public financing, saying, “I made a promise to the American people that I would (take public funds), and he made a promise. Apparently he may not keep that.”

Although he will accept public financing for the general election, John McCain withdrew from public financing for his primary campaign, waiving access to $5.8 million. However, much controversy has surrounded his withdrawal from the funding, with some claiming he used the funds as collateral for a loan taken out early on in the primary season. The Democrats have put together a lawsuit against the FEC, stating they did not properly review the details of the loan and their guidelines before allowing John McCain to withdraw from public financing. The FEC also has 4 of 6 seats currently vacant, as the current unproductive Congress cannot agree on any appointees, which is a large factor in the reason why the FEC could not properly investigate and rule on McCain’s financing questions.

Shaun Booth, a senior writer for Political Lore, has more detail on the issue in his post, McCain’s Lingering FEC Problem.

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