In 2015, an individual named Joseph Shaber died and left the Libertarian Party $235,575 in his will. The party was not permitted to receive the money all at once, however, because federal campaign finance law forbids an individual from giving more than $33,400 to a national committee of a political party in any one year. The purpose of the law is to prevent anyone from giving so much money to a political party as to then receive special treatment by that party’s elected officials in government, i.e., the president or members of Congress.

On January 3, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the Libertarian Party has standing to challenge the FEC decision that the party can’t accept the money all at once. The case, Libertarian National Committee v FEC, 1:16cv-121, had been filed almost a year ago. The FEC tried to argue that the party didn’t have standing because the law would have allowed it to receive the money all at once if it put it in segregated bank accounts to be used only for particular purposes. But the judge was not persuaded by this argument, and said the case can proceed.

It will be difficult for the FEC to show that there is any danger of corruption to allow a deceased individual to leave money to a party, especially a party that has never elected anyone to federal office. This is especially true in this case, because Shaber had not told the party he planned to leave a large bequest. One might theoretically argue that an individual, intent on winning special favors for himself or herself, might conceivably tell a political party that he would leave a large bequest if that party’s powerful office-holders did him or her a special favor. But when the donor doesn’t even tell the party about the will, that argument fails. Here is the 13-page order.