The request comes down to one essential issue: whether Viacom can legally donate production costs, airtime and use of Colbert's staff to create ads for the so-called super PAC, to be played both on "The Colbert Report" and as paid advertisements other networks and shows.

If the FEC grants Colbert a press exemption, the decision could have a drastic effect on media involvement in federal elections, potentially opening the door for media outlets that employ politicians as commentators to aid favored candidates through undisclosed contributions. Those figures include Fox News contributor Karl Rove, who founded American Crossroads, and former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) who heads "Huck PAC" and hosts a show on Fox News.

Several campaign finance reform advocates are expressing concern over three proposed changes the FEC will consider on Thursday. Granting Colbert's request in full, they argue, would allow media companies to anonymously fund the political activities of their employees, under the protection of the FEC's press exemption.

Several groups filed briefs on Colbert's advisory opinion, warning the FEC of the consequences of granting the request. But here's where the relationships get awkward: One group expressing outrage is the Campaign Legal Center, of which Potter himself is president and general counsel. The CLC and another group, Democracy 21, filed a joint commentary on the advisory opinion urging the FEC to tread lightly when granting Colbert's press exemption.

Granting the exemption would produce what the reformers called "a sweeping and damaging impact on disclosure laws," which would allow media companies to fund employees' political activities anonymously. Politicians who are employed by media companies could use their television shows as platforms to raise unlimited funds for their PACs, without having to disclose it, the reform groups said.

Additionally, those media companies would be allowed to anonymously pay for independent expenditure ads for those PACs, which could then be played on other networks and shows, as well as online. Media companies (Including Fox News, which employs several political figures associated with super PACs) could fund the administrative costs of their employees' PACs, without having to disclose that donation.

"Mr. Colbert's ultimate goals here may be comedic," the reformers wrote. "But the commission should not be the straight man at the expense of the law."

Potter told National Journal in May he had built a firewall between his work for Colbert and the Campaign Legal Center. And he maintained the request is no joke: "Because it's Mr. Colbert, the request has elements of humor in it," he said. "But the question we are asking is a serious one. The Super PAC needs to know how to report its activities."

The FEC will consider three draft opinions at Thursday morning's hearing, all placed on the calendar by FEC chairwoman Cynthia Bauerly, a Democratic appointee. All three grant Colbert a press exemption, to a point.